Human papilloma virus‐associated squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx in an 18‐year‐old woman

Background Human papilloma virus (HPV)‐associated malignancies are considered to be sexually transmitted diseases. Methods We report a HPV‐positive larynx cancer in an 18‐year‐old female clarinet player, despite vaccination with the quadrivalent HPV‐6‐11‐16‐18‐vaccine Gardasil (Merck Sharp & Doh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Head & neck 2019-04, Vol.41 (4), p.E59-E61
Main Authors: Hotz, Michel‐André, Christen, Brigitte, Sahli, Roland, Arnold, Andreas Michael
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Benign
Clarinet music
Disease transmission
Dysplasia
Head and neck
human papilloma virus
Human papillomavirus
Laryngeal cancer
Larynx
Oral infection
Saliva
Sexually transmitted diseases
Squamous cell carcinoma
STD
transmission
Vaccination
Vaccines
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Summary:Background Human papilloma virus (HPV)‐associated malignancies are considered to be sexually transmitted diseases. Methods We report a HPV‐positive larynx cancer in an 18‐year‐old female clarinet player, despite vaccination with the quadrivalent HPV‐6‐11‐16‐18‐vaccine Gardasil (Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., West Point, Pennsylvania). The patient showed no evidence of genito‐oral infection but showed some evidence for oral‐oral HPV transmission through the sharing of saliva‐infested clarinet mouthpieces. A right vocal cord lesion of benign appearance was removed via free margin resection. Results Histopathology revealed a microinvasive squamous cell carcinoma inside a zone of high‐grade dysplasia that was positive for HPV‐45. No tumor recurrence was observed during a 4‐year follow‐up evaluation. Conclusion Benign lesion appearance and quadrivalent HPV vaccine status do not exclude HPV‐associated malignancies. In our patient, the Gardasil vaccine did not provide crossover protection against HPV 45 infection. HPV‐associated disease may not necessarily be transmitted via sexual practice patterns alone.
ISSN:1043-3074
1097-0347
DOI:10.1002/hed.25572