HPV-Related Nonkeratinizing Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oropharynx: Utility of Microscopic Features in Predicting Patient Outcome

Human papilloma virus (HPV) is an etiologic agent in a subset of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs). The aim of this study was to sub-classify SCC of the oropharynx based upon histologic features into nonkeratinizing (NK) SCC, keratinizing (K) SCC, and hybrid SCC, and determine the frequency of HPV and patient survival in each group. Patients with oropharyngeal SCC with a minimum of 2 years of clinical follow-up were identified from radiation oncology databases from 1997 to 2004. All patients received either up front surgery with postoperative radiation or definitive radiation based therapy. In situ hybridization (ISH) for high-risk HPV subtypes and immunohistochemistry for p16, a protein frequently up-regulated in HPV-associated carcinomas, were performed. Overall and disease-specific survival were assessed. Of 118 cases, 46.6% were NK SCC, 24.6% K SCC and 28.8% hybrid SCC. NK SCC occurred in slightly younger patients that were more often male. It more frequently presented with lymph node metastases and was surgically resected compared to K SCC. NK SCC was significantly more likely to be HPV and p16 positive than KSCC (P < 0.001) and to have better overall and disease-specific survival (P = 0.0002; P = 0.0142, respectively). Hybrid SCC was also more likely than K SCC to be HPV and p16 positive (P = 0.003; P = 0.002, respectively) and to have better overall survival (P = 0.0105). Sub-classification of oropharyngeal SCC by histologic type provides useful clinical information. NK SCC histology strongly predicts HPV-association and better patient survival compared to K SCC. Hybrid SCC appears to have an intermediate frequency of HPV-association and patient survival

Human papillomavirus persistence in young unscreened women, a prospective cohort study.

Contains fulltext : 95972.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)OBJECTIVE: To evaluate hr-HPV persistence and associated risk factors in a prospective cohort of young unscreened women. Additionally, the relation between hr-HPV status and cytology/histology results is examined. METHODS AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Two year follow-up of 235 out of 2065 young women (18-29 years), participating in a large, one year epidemiological study, with questionnaires, self-collected cervico-vaginal samples (Vibabrush), and SPF(10)LiPA for HPV detection. Only women hr-HPV positive at sample month 12 were invited for a second year of follow-up. After study follow-up, available cytology/histology data were requested from PALGA (the national network and registry of histo- and cytopathology in The Netherlands). These data were compared with available cytology/histology data of the month 12 hr-HPV negative women from the same cohort. 44.1% of the hr-HPV types detected at study month 12, persisted during follow-up. HPV types 45, 31, 16 and 18 were most likely to persist with percentages of 60.0%, 56.8%, 54.4%,and 50.0%, respectively. Compared to newly detected infections at month 12, infections present since 6 months or baseline had an increased risk to persist (OR 3.09 [95% CI: 1.74-5.51] and OR 4.99 [95% CI: 2.67-9.32], respectively). Other co-factors influencing persistence were, multiple HPV infections, smoking and multiple lifetime sexual partners. The percentage of women with a HSIL/CIN2+ (12.1%) in the persistent HPV group, was not significantly different (p = 0.107) from the 5.3% of the women who cleared the hr-HPV infection, but was significantly (p 0.000) higher than to the 1.6% of women in the hr-HPV negative control group. CONCLUSION: We showed that HPV genotype, multiple infections, smoking, and multiple lifetime sexual partners are co-factors that increase the risk of hr-HPV persistency. Most importantly, we showed that hr-HPV infections are more likely to persist the longer they have been present and that women with a persistent hr-HPV infection have a high risk of HSIL/CIN2+ development

HPV Knowledge and Vaccine Acceptability Among Hispanic Fathers

The purpose of this study was to examine human papillomavirus (HPV) knowledge and vaccine acceptability in a convenience sample of immigrant Hispanic men, many of whom are parents of adolescents. Data on 189 male callers were collected from the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Information Service Spanish-language call center. Most participants were willing to vaccinate their adolescent son (87.5 %) or daughter (78.8 %) against HPV. However, among this sample, awareness of HPV was low and knowledge of key risk factors varied. These findings can help guide the development of culturally informed educational efforts aimed at increasing informed decision-making about HPV vaccination among Hispanic fathers