Juvenile-Onset Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis in the United States, Epidemiology and HPV Types-2015-2020

Juvenile onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis: What do we know in 2024 ?

Juvenile onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis is a lifelong benign squamous lesion associated with HPV infection, particularly HPV6 and HPV11 genotypes. These lesions are rare, but can lead to laryngeal obturations, which can cause disabling dyspnea, or transform into squamous cell carcinoma. The aim here is to provide an epidemiological, biological and clinical overview of this pathology, particularly in children, in order to understand the issues at stake in terms of research and the development of medical and therapeutic management tools.

Distribution Characteristics of Juvenile-Onset Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis at First-Time Surgery

OBJECTIVES

The lesion distribution of juvenile-onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (JORRP) during first-time surgery has been rarely reported. The purpose of this study was to describe the anatomical distribution of papilloma across 25 Derkay sites during initial surgery and to assess the impact of the lesion distribution on disease severity.

METHODS

Surgical videos and medical records of 106 patients with JORRP (27 aggressive and 79 nonaggressive cases) were retrospectively reviewed. Lesion locations were recorded using Derkay anatomical sites. Logistic regression was used to analyze the effect of the lesion distribution on disease severity.

RESULTS

Among the 106 patients, the true vocal cords (90.6% left, 84.0% right) were the most frequently involved site, followed by the false vocal cords (39.6% left, 35.8% right) and the anterior commissure (26.4%). Two patients (1.9%) had tracheal involvement. Patients with false vocal cord involvement (odds ratio [OR] = 3.425, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.285, 9.132], P = .014) and a younger age at diagnosis (OR = .698, 95% CI [.539, .905], P = .007) were more likely to require more than 4 procedures in the year following first-time surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

Lesions were most common on the true vocal cords. False vocal cord involvement and a younger age at diagnosis were risk factors for disease severity.

Recent Developments in Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccinology

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is causally associated with 5% of cancers, including cancers of the cervix, penis, vulva, vagina, anus and oropharynx. The most carcinogenic HPV is HPV-16, which dominates the types causing cancer. There is also sufficient evidence that HPV types 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58 and 59 cause cervical cancer. The L1 protein, which, when assembled into virus-like particles, induces HPV-type-specific neutralising antibodies, forms the basis of all commercial HPV vaccines. There are six licensed prophylactic HPV vaccines: three bivalent, two quadrivalent and one nonavalent vaccine. The bivalent vaccines protect from HPV types 16 and 18, which are associated with more than 70% of cervical cancers. Prophylactic vaccination targets children before sexual debut, but there are now catch-up campaigns, which have also been shown to be beneficial in reducing HPV infection and disease. HPV vaccination of adults after treatment for cervical lesions or recurrent respiratory papillomatosis has impacted recurrence. Gender-neutral vaccination will improve herd immunity and prevent infection in men and women. HPV vaccines are immunogenic in people living with HIV, but more research is needed on the long-term impact of vaccination and to determine whether further boosters are required.

Association between human papillomavirus particle production and the severity of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis

Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) has a wide range of severity. We investigate the relationship between human papillomavirus (HPV) particle production and severity of RRP. From September 2005 to June 2021, 68 RRP samples (from 29 patients) were included. HPV type was determined. HPV viral load, physical status, and demographic and clinical characteristics were assessed. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed for p16, Ki-67, L1, and E4. We used NanoSuit-CLEM (correlative light and electron microscopy) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to examine the samples. The total number of surgeries in HPV-positive and HPV-negative cases were 3.78 (n = 55/68, range: 1-16) and 1.30 (n = 13/68, range: 1-3), respectively (p = 0.02). IHC showed that L1 and E4 were correlated and expressed on the tumour surface. NanoSuit-CLEM and TEM revealed HPV particles in L1-positive nuclei. L1 IHC-positive cases had a shorter surgical interval (p < 0.01) and more frequent surgeries (p = 0.04). P16 IHC, viral load, and physical status were not associated with disease severity. This study visualised HPV particle production in RRP for the first time. Persistent HPV particle infection was associated with severity. We suggest L1 IHC for evaluating RRP severity in addition to the Derkay score.

Factors Related to Human Papillomavirus Positivity among Oral Cavity and Pharynx Cancers from Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program Data

BACKGROUND

As human papillomavirus positive (HPV+) oral cavity and pharynx cancer (OCPC) incidence increases significantly, our objective was to determine whether selected sociodemographic and clinical factors were associated with HPV+ OCPCs overall and by oropharyngeal and non-oropharyngeal sites.

METHODS

Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program data were used in this study. Specifically, univariate and logistic regression models were used to examine the relationships between HPV+ and HPV- OCPC cases and age, sex, race, ethnicity, marital status, factors of neighborhood socioeconomic status (i.e., nSES/Yost index) and rurality/urbanity, first malignancy status, histology, reporting source, stage at diagnosis, and OCPC anatomic site. The same approach was used to identify risk factors for HPV positivity for oropharyngeal and non-oropharyngeal OCPCs separately.

RESULTS

In all OCPCs, cases that were male, <80 years old, lived in the four highest nSES categories, diagnosed with a non-"gum and other mouth" OCPC (ref = hypopharynx), not locally staged at diagnosis, and a first malignancy had higher odds of being HPV+. Cases that were American Indian/Alaska Native and Asian or Pacific Islander (ref = White), Spanish-Hispanic-Latino ethnicity, non-married/partnered, and not reported by a hospital/clinic had lower odds of being HPV+. Associations were maintained in oropharyngeal OCPCs and only age and race remained significant for non-oropharyngeal OCPCs.

CONCLUSIONS

Sociodemographic and clinical differences in HPV+ and HPV- OCPC, overall and for (non)oropharyngeal, cases exist.

IMPACT

Identification of OCPC and (non)oropharyngeal risk factors for HPV positivity may assist in discovering high-risk groups that should receive enhanced public health efforts to reduce the U.S. OCPC burden.

Detection of Human Papillomavirus in Squamous Lesions of the Conjunctiva Using RNA and DNA In-Situ Hybridization

In-situ hybridization provides a convenient and reliable method to detect human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue. Cases of conjunctival papillomas, conjunctival intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), conjunctival carcinoma in situ (cCIS), and invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), in which low-risk (LR) and/or high-risk (HR) HPV types were evaluated by RNA or DNA in-situ hybridization, were retrospectively identified. LR HPV types were frequently detected in conjunctival papillomas (25/30, 83%), including 17/18 (94%) with RNA probes, compared to 8/12 (75%) with DNA probes. None of the CIN/cCIS or SCC cases were positive for LR HPV by either method. HR HPV was detected by RNA in-situ hybridization in 1/16 (6%) of CIN/cCIS cases and 2/4 (50%) of SCC cases, while DNA in-situ hybridization failed to detect HPV infection in any of the CIN/cCIS lesions. Reactive atypia and dysplasia observed in papillomas was generally associated with the detection of LR HPV types. Collectively, our findings indicate RNA in-situ hybridization may provide a high-sensitivity approach for identifying HPV infection in squamous lesions of the conjunctiva and facilitate the distinction between reactive atypia and true dysplasia. There was no clear association between HPV infection and atopy in papillomas or dysplastic lesions.

A Novel In Vivo Model of Laryngeal Papillomavirus-Associated Disease Using Mus musculus Papillomavirus

Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP), caused by laryngeal infection with low-risk human papillomaviruses, has devastating effects on vocal communication and quality of life. Factors in RRP onset, other than viral presence in the airway, are poorly understood. RRP research has been stalled by limited preclinical models. The only known papillomavirus able to infect laboratory mice, Mus musculus papillomavirus (MmuPV1), induces disease in a variety of tissues. We hypothesized that MmuPV1 could infect the larynx as a foundation for a preclinical model of RRP. We further hypothesized that epithelial injury would enhance the ability of MmuPV1 to cause laryngeal disease, because injury is a potential factor in RRP and promotes MmuPV1 infection in other tissues. In this report, we infected larynges of NOD scid gamma mice with MmuPV1 with and without vocal fold abrasion and measured infection and disease pathogenesis over 12 weeks. Laryngeal disease incidence and severity increased earlier in mice that underwent injury in addition to infection. However, laryngeal disease emerged in all infected mice by week 12, with or without injury. Secondary laryngeal infections and disease arose in nude mice after MmuPV1 skin infections, confirming that experimentally induced injury is dispensable for laryngeal MmuPV1 infection and disease in immunocompromised mice. Unlike RRP, lesions were relatively flat dysplasias and they could progress to cancer. Similar to RRP, MmuPV1 transcript was detected in all laryngeal disease and in clinically normal larynges. MmuPV1 capsid protein was largely absent from the larynx, but productive infection arose in a case of squamous metaplasia at the level of the cricoid cartilage. Similar to RRP, disease spread beyond the larynx to the trachea and bronchi. This first report of laryngeal MmuPV1 infection provides a foundation for a preclinical model of RRP.

Development of Antibodies against HPV-6 and HPV-11 for the Study of Laryngeal Papilloma

Laryngeal papilloma (LP), which is associated with infection by human papillomavirus (HPV)-6 or -11, displays aggressive growth. The precise molecular mechanism underlying the tumorigenesis of LP has yet to be uncovered. Building on our earlier research into HPV-6, in this study, the viral gene expression of HPV-11 was investigated by quantitative PCR and DNA/RNA in situ hybridization. Additionally, newly developed antibodies against the E4 protein of HPV-6 and HPV-11 were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. The average viral load of HPV-11 in LP was 1.95 ± 0.66 × 10⁵ copies/ng DNA, and 88% of HPV mRNA expression was found to be E4, E5a, and E5b mRNAs. According to RNA in situ hybridization, E4 and E5b mRNAs were expressed from the middle to upper part of the epithelium. E4 immunohistochemistry revealed a wide positive reaction in the upper cell layer in line with E4 mRNA expression. Other head and neck lesions with HPV-11 infection also showed a positive reaction in E4 immunohistochemistry. The distribution pattern of HPV DNA, viral mRNA, and E4 protein in LP with HPV-11 infection was quite similar to that of HPV-6. Therefore, it might be possible to apply these E4-specific antibodies in other functional studies as well as clinical applications, including targeted molecular therapies in patients with HPV-6 and HPV-11 infection.