• 8/22/2006
  • Chicago, IL
  • John Otrompke
  • Poster 160 – AHNS

Human papilloma virus (HPV), the condition which has been suggested as a causative agent in cervical cancer, has also been linked to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), according to a paper presented here at the 2006 annual meeting of the American Head and Neck Society (AHNS).

“The prevalence of HPV is rising worldwide,” noted study presenter Jose-Francisco Gallegos-Hernandez, MD, surgeon, head and neck department, Oncology Hospital, Mexico City, Mexico.

The poster presented on August 19th reported the results of a study of 118 head and neck cancer patients which found unusually high prevalence of two types of HPV, in particular, HPV type 16 and type 18.

HPV type 18 is associated with the development of leucoplasia as a preneoplastic lesion, while type 16 has been associated with a better prognosis in head and neck cancer patients.

The researchers identified some strain HPV in 42% of the cases. Of those, HPV type 16 was present 70% of the time.

“Some authors say that patients with HPV have a better prognosis, maybe because alcohol and tobacco use are not present in as many patients with HPV,” said Gallegos-Hernandez. While the study looked for a link between alcohol and tobacco use (two other oft-cited factors in head and neck cancer) and sexual practices and HPV, none was found, he said.

Fifty percent of patients with laryngeal cancer had HPV, he said. HPV type 16 was present in 20% of those with mouth cancer, 25% of those with cancer of the mucosae, and 66% of those with cancer of the palate, while no other forms of HPV were found in patients with those forms of cancer in the study, the poster said. HPV was found more frequently in patients over 50 years of age and in men.

“Perhaps a vaccine could play a future [preventive] role in high-risk patients,” Dr. Gallegos-Hernandez said, noting that the new vaccine for cervical cancer might also have utility as a prophylactic measure against head and neck cancer.