Biomarkers of human papillomavirus (HPV)-driven head and neck cancer in Latin America and Europe study: Study design and HPV DNA/p16<sup>INK4a</sup> status.

Sichero, Laura; Tagliabue, Marta; Mota, Giana; Ferreira, Silvaneide; Nunes, Rafaella A L; Castañeda, Carlos Arturo; Castillo, Miluska; Correa, Rita Mariel et al. · Head Neck · 2022

cross_sectional · Level IV

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Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV)-driven head/neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) prevalence varies globally. We evaluated HPV DNA and p16<sup>INK4a</sup> in formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) HNSCC from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. HPV was genotyped by PCR-hybridization. All HPV DNA positive and some HPV DNA negative cases underwent p16<sup>INK4a</sup> immunohistochemistry. HPV DNA was detected in 32.8%, 11.1%, and 17.8% of oropharyngeal (OPC), oral cavity (OCC) and laryngeal (LC) cancers, respectively. OPC HPV prevalence was higher in Colombia (94.7%), and Argentina (42.6%) compared to Brazil (10.6%) and Peru (0.0%). HPV-16 was the most detected. Other HPVs were found in LC. Higher rates of p16<sup>INK4a</sup> positivity were observed among HPV positive OPC/OCC cases compared to LC cases. Our results support a role for HPV-16 in a subset of HNSCC, corroborate the heterogeneity observed in samples from different countries, and contribute additional etiological and biomarkers information in tumors of significant impact worldwide.

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