Prevalence of human papillomavirus types and variants and p16(INK4a) expression in head and neck squamous cells carcinomas in São Paulo, Brazil

• Published in: Infectious agents and cancer 2016, Vol.11, p.20-20
• Main Authors: Betiol, Julio C, Sichero, Laura, Costa, Henrique O de Olival, de Matos, Leandro L, Andreoli, Maria A, Ferreira, Silvaneide, Faraj, Sheila F, de Mello, Evandro S, Sobrinho, João S, Brandão, Lenine G, Cernea, Claudio R, Kulcsar, Marco A, Pinto, Fabio R, Gonçalves, Antonio J, Menezes, Marcelo B, Silva, Leonardo, Rossi, Lia M, Nunes, Rafaella A Lima, Termini, Lara, Villa, Luisa L
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1750-9378; 1750-9378
• DOI: 10.1186/s13027-016-0067-8

Human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) diverges geographically. The reliability of using p16(INK4a) expression as a marker of viral infection is controversial in HNSCC. We evaluated HPV types and HPV-16 variants prevalence, and p16(INK4a) expression in HNSCC specimens provided by two different Institutions in São Paulo. HPV DNA from formalin-fixed specimens was accessed by Inno-LiPA, HPV-16 variants by PCR-sequencing, and p16(INK4a) protein levels by immunohistochemistry. Overall, HPV DNA was detected among 19.4 % of the specimens (36/186). Viral prevalence was higher in the oral cavity (25.0 %, 23/92) then in other anatomical sites (oropharynx 14,3 %, larynx 13.7 %) when samples from both Institutions were analyzed together. HPV prevalence was also higher in the oral cavity when samples from both Institutions were analyzed separately. HPV-16 was the most prevalent type identified in 69.5 % of the HPV positive smaples and specimens were assigned into Asian-American (57.2 %) or European (42.8 %) phylogenetic branches. High expression of p16(INK4a) was more common among HPV positive tumors. Our results support a role for HPV-16 in a subset of HNSCC.