HPV DNA genotyping, HPV E6*I mRNA detection, and p16INK4a/Ki-67 staining in Belgian head and neck cancer patient specimens, collected within the HPV-AHEAD study. (June 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Simoens, Cindy; Gorbaslieva, Ivana; Gheit, Tarik; Holzinger, Dana; Lucas, Eric; Ridder, Ruediger; Rehm, Susanne; Vermeulen, Peter; Lammens, Martin; Vanderveken, Olivier M.; Kumar, Rekha Vijay; Gangane, Nitin; Caniglia, Alessandro; Maffini, Fausto; Rubio, Maria Belén Lloveras; Anantharaman, Devasena; Chiocca, Susanna; Brennan, Paul; Pillai, Madhavan Radhakrishna; Sankaranarayanan, Rengaswamy; Bogers, Johannes; Pawlita, Michael; Tommasino, Massimo; Arbyn, Marc; Herold-Mende, Christel; Dyckhoff, Gerhard; Mosialos, George; Chiesa, Fausto; Tagliabue, Marta; Ansarin, Mohssen; Boeing, Heiner; Castellsagué, Xavier; de Sanjosé, Silvia; Mena, Marisa; Bosch, Francesc Xavier; Alemany, Laia; Esmy, Pulikottil Okkuru; Jayshree, Rudrapatna S.; Sabitha, Kortikere S.; Shenoy, Ashok M.; Vijayakumar, Manavalan; Chiwate, Aruna S.; Thorat, Ranjit V.; Hublikar, Girish G.; Lakshetti, Shashikant S.; Nene, Bhagwan M.; Kataki, Amal Ch; Kumar Das, Ashok; Sankaran, Subha; Ramadas, Kunnambath; Carreira, Christine; McKay-Chopin, Sandrine; Somanathan, Thara; Zito, Alfredo;
• Is Part Of: Cancer epidemiology. Volume 72(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-06
• Subjects: HNC Head and neck carcinoma -- OPC Oropharyngeal cancer -- HPV Human papillomavirus -- LC Laryngeal cancer -- OCC Oral cavity cancer -- HC Hypopharyngeal cancer -- FFPE Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded -- S Section -- E7-MPG E7 type-specific multiplex genotyping -- hrHPV high risk HPV -- phrHPV possible/probable hrHPV -- lrHPV low risk HPV -- ubC ubiquitin C -- bp base pairs -- RNA+ HPV E6*I mRNA-positive -- p16 p16INK4a -- IHC immunohistochemistry -- AF attributed fraction; Head and neck neoplasms -- Human papillomavirus -- Human papillomavirus DNA tests -- mRNA -- p16(INK4a); Cancer -- Epidemiology -- Periodicals; Cancer -- Prevention -- Periodicals; Cancer -- Diagnosis -- Periodicals; Carcinogenesis -- Periodicals; 616.994005
• DOI: 10.1016/j.canep.2021.101925
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1877-7821

Abstract

Highlights: Heterogeneity of HPV DNA prevalence across anatomical sites in Belgian HNC patients. HPV16 is the predominant genotype in all HNC sites. Estimated proportion of HPV-driven HNC (1980–2014): 30 % for OPC, 3 % for OC and LC. Abstract: Background: The main risk factors for head and neck cancer (HNC) are tobacco and alcohol use. However, an important fraction of oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) is caused by human papillomaviruses (HPV), a subgroup with increasing incidence in several western countries. Methods: As part of the HPV-AHEAD study, we assessed the role of HPV infection in 772 archived tissue specimens of Belgian HNC patients: 455 laryngeal (LC), 106 oral cavity (OCC), 99 OPC, 76 hypopharyngeal (HC), and 36 unspecified parts of the head and neck. All specimens were tested for HPV DNA (21 genotypes); whereof all HPV DNA-positives, all HPV DNA-negative OPCs and a random subset of HPV DNA-negatives of the other HNC-sites were tested for the presence of type-specific HPV RNA and p16 INK4a over-expression. Results: The highest HPV DNA prevalence was observed in OPC (36.4 %), and was significantly lower (p < 0.001) in the other HNCs (OCC:7.5 %, LC:6.6 %). HPV16 was the most common HPV-genotype in all HNCs. Approximately 83.0 % of the HPV DNA-positive OPCs tested HPV RNA or p16-positive, compared to about 37.5 % and 44.0 % in OCC and LC, respectively. Estimation of the attributable fraction of an HPV infection in HNC was very similar for HPV RNA or p16 in addition to DNA-positivity; with 30 % for OPC, and 3 % for OCC and LC. Conclusion: Our study confirms the heterogeneity of HPV DNA prevalence across anatomical sites in HNC, with a predominance of HPV16 in all sites. The estimated proportion of HPV-driven HNC in Belgium, during the period 1980–2014, was 10 times higher in OPC compared to OCC and LC.