Cancers (Nov 2020)
Role of Human Papillomavirus Infection in Head and Neck Cancer in Italy: The HPV-AHEAD Study
- Marta Tagliabue,
- Marisa Mena,
- Fausto Maffini,
- Tarik Gheit,
- Beatriz Quirós Blasco,
- Dana Holzinger,
- Sara Tous,
- Daniele Scelsi,
- Debora Riva,
- Enrica Grosso,
- Francesco Chu,
- Eric Lucas,
- Ruediger Ridder,
- Susanne Rrehm,
- Johannes Paul Bogers,
- Daniela Lepanto,
- Belén Lloveras Rubio,
- Rekha Vijay Kumar,
- Nitin Gangane,
- Omar Clavero,
- Michael Pawlita,
- Devasena Anantharaman,
- Madhavan Radhakrishna Pillai,
- Paul Brennan,
- Rengaswamy Sankaranarayanan,
- Marc Arbyn,
- Francesca Lombardi,
- Miren Taberna,
- Sara Gandini,
- Fausto Chiesa,
- Mohssen Ansarin,
- Laia Alemany,
- Massimo Tommasino,
- Susanna Chiocca,
- The HPV-AHEAD Study Group
Affiliations
- Marta Tagliabue
- Division of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, 20141 Milan, Italy
- Marisa Mena
- Cancer Epidemiology Research Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology-Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (ICO-IDIBELL), L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08908 Barcenola, Spain
- Fausto Maffini
- Division of Pathology, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, 20141 Milan, Italy
- Tarik Gheit
- Infections and Cancer Biology Group, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), 69372 Lyon, France
- Beatriz Quirós Blasco
- Cancer Epidemiology Research Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology-Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (ICO-IDIBELL), L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08908 Barcenola, Spain
- Dana Holzinger
- Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Sara Tous
- Cancer Epidemiology Research Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology-Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (ICO-IDIBELL), L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08908 Barcenola, Spain
- Daniele Scelsi
- Division of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, 20141 Milan, Italy
- Debora Riva
- Division of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, 20141 Milan, Italy
- Enrica Grosso
- Division of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, 20141 Milan, Italy
- Francesco Chu
- Division of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, 20141 Milan, Italy
- Eric Lucas
- Infections and Cancer Biology Group, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), 69372 Lyon, France
- Ruediger Ridder
- Roche mtm laboratories, 69117 Mannheim, Germany
- Susanne Rrehm
- Roche mtm laboratories, 69117 Mannheim, Germany
- Johannes Paul Bogers
- Laboratory for Cell Biology and Histology, University of Antwerp, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium
- Daniela Lepanto
- Division of Pathology, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, 20141 Milan, Italy
- Belén Lloveras Rubio
- Hospital del Mar, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
- Rekha Vijay Kumar
- Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bangalore, Karnataka 560029, India
- Nitin Gangane
- Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Sevagram, Wardha, Maharashtra State 442102, India
- Omar Clavero
- Cancer Epidemiology Research Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology-Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (ICO-IDIBELL), L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08908 Barcenola, Spain
- Michael Pawlita
- Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Devasena Anantharaman
- Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Poojappura, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695012, India
- Madhavan Radhakrishna Pillai
- Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Poojappura, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695012, India
- Paul Brennan
- Section of Genetics, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), 69372 Lyon, France
- Rengaswamy Sankaranarayanan
- Research Triangle Institute (RTI) International India, New Delhi 110001, India
- Marc Arbyn
- Unit of Cancer Epidemiology/Belgian Cancer Centre, Sciensano, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
- Francesca Lombardi
- Data Management, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, 20141 Milan, Italy
- Miren Taberna
- Medical Oncology Department, Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), ONCOBELL, IDIBELL, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08035 Barcelona, Spain
- Sara Gandini
- Department of Experimental Oncology, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, 20141 Milan, Italy
- Fausto Chiesa
- Division of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, 20141 Milan, Italy
- Mohssen Ansarin
- Division of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, 20141 Milan, Italy
- Laia Alemany
- Cancer Epidemiology Research Program, Catalan Institute of Oncology-Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (ICO-IDIBELL), L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08908 Barcenola, Spain
- Massimo Tommasino
- Infections and Cancer Biology Group, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), 69372 Lyon, France
- Susanna Chiocca
- Department of Experimental Oncology, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, 20141 Milan, Italy
- The HPV-AHEAD Study Group
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers12123567
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 12,
no. 12
p. 3567
Abstract
Literature on the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in head and neck cancer (HNC) in Italy is limited, especially for non-oropharyngeal tumours. Within the context of the HPV-AHEAD study, we aimed to assess the prognostic value of different tests or test algorithms judging HPV carcinogenicity in HNC and factors related to HPV positivity at the European Institute of Oncology. We conducted a retrospective cohort study (2000–2010) on a total of 696 primary HNC patients. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded cancer tissues were studied. All HPV-DNA-positive and a random sample of HPV-DNA-negative cases were subjected to HPV-E6*I mRNA detection and p16INK4a staining. Multivariate models were used to assess for factors associated with HPV positivity and proportional hazards for survival and recurrence. The percentage of HPV-driven cases (considering HPV-E6*I mRNA positivity) was 1.8, 2.2, and 40.4% for oral cavity (OC), laryngeal (LC), and oropharyngeal (OPC) cases, respectively. The estimates were similar for HPV-DNA/p16INK4a double positivity. Being a non-smoker or former smoker or diagnosed at more recent calendar periods were associated with HPV-E6*I mRNA positivity only in OPC. Being younger was associated with HPV-E6*I mRNA positivity in LC. HPV-driven OPC, but not HPV-driven OC and LC, showed better 5 year overall and disease-free survival. Our data show that HPV prevalence in OPC was much higher than in OC and LC and observed to increase in most recent years. Moreover, HPV positivity conferred better prognosis only in OPC. Novel insights on the role of HPV in HNC in Italy are provided, with possible implications in the clinical management of these patients.
Keywords
- head and neck cancer
- human papillomavirus
- oropharyngeal cancer
- virus-related cancers
- human papillomavirus diagnosis