HPV Could be a Potential Factor of Survival in Laryngeal Cancer: a Preliminary Study in Mexican Patients

Abstract

Introduction: In Head and Neck (HN) cancer, the High-Risk Human Papillomavirus (hr HPV) infection has been<br />associated in about 40% of these tumors. The hr HPV infection is one of the etiological factors of several epithelial<br />tumors; however, its association with the prognosis has not yet been established for patients with Laryngeal Squamous<br />Cell Carcinoma (LSCC). On the other hand, Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) is a molecular marker widely<br />studied in cancer and its overexpression has been associated with poor prognosis in some types of cancer, including<br />the HN cancer. In the present study, we analyzed EGFR expression and HPV detection in a cohort of Mexican patients<br />with LSCC and define their association with clinical-pathological and survival parameters. Methods: EGFR expression<br />analysis was performed by immunohistochemistry assay. A tissue array was constructed based on 30 paraffin-embedded<br />tissue samples. HPV detection was performed by PCR. The results were then compared with the clinical-pathological<br />variables and outcome measures (Kaplan Meier and Cox analysis). Results: High expression of EGFR was observed<br />in 43% of the samples and 20% of HPV detection. The statistical analyses provided evidence of disassociation between<br />clinical-pathological parameters and EGFR expression, but there was an association with poor prognosis. Interestingly,<br />HPV detection is slightly associated with good prognosis. Conclusion: Both, EGFR overexpression and HPV presence<br />could be associated with an unfavorable prognosis in patients with LSCC, independently of other clinical-pathological<br />factors.