Role of Human Papillomavirus Type 16 in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Upper Aerodigestive Tracts in Colombian Patients

Human papillomavirus prevalence in oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma in South America: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Some studies have addressed the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) in head and neck cancer in South America; however, no studies have systematically gathered prevalence and conducted a meta-analysis. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of HPV in oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas in South America. We performed a systematic review and metaanalysis using the following databases: PubMed, Embase, Lilacs, Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science. Data were extracted and analyzed using random-effects models to estimate the pooled prevalence of HPV. We identified 209 nonduplicated studies, of which 38 were selected. The overall prevalence of HPV was 24.31% (95% CI 16.87-32.64; I2 = 96%, p heterogeneity <0.001). HPV prevalence in oropharyngeal cancer was 17.9% (95% CI 7.6-31.4; I2 = 96%, p heterogeneity <0.001) and that in oral cavity cancer was 23.19% (95% CI 14.94-32.63; I2 = 94%, p heterogeneity <0.001). We found an overall prevalence of HPV in 24.31% of oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas in South American patients. The prevalence of HPV was 17.9% for oropharyngeal cancer and 23.19% for oral cavity cancer.

Human papillomavirus and cancerous diseases of the head and neck: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The increasing incidence of head and neck cancer (HNSCC) highlights the need to better understand the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the development of these cancers. The aims of this study were to conduct a systematic review and a meta-analysis concerning observational studies on the association between HPV infection and HNSCC and to quantify this association, thereby obtaining a reliable estimation of the risk of HPV infection in the development of head and neck cancer. Literature searches were performed using PubMed and Scopus databases. StatsDirect 2.7.8 program was used for the analysis. We found 15 case-control studies, 63 prevalence studies, and no cohort studies. The pooled odds ratio (OR) for all the included case-control studies resulted in a value of 1.63 (95% CI 1.27-2.09; P < 0.0001). The highest pooled OR resulted from the analysis of all the studies that examined HPV 16 genotype in association oral cavity (OR 5.36; 95% CI 1.4-20). The strong evidence of association between HPV infection and HNSCC highlights the importance of the introduction of specific tests in the cancer prevention practices to evaluate the presence of the virus, especially in the oral cavity, and the possibility of an extension of the vaccine anti-HPV in the male population too.

Role of Human papilloma virus infection and altered methylation of specific genes in esophageal cancer

BACKGROUND

Evaluation of Human papilloma virus (HPV) and its association with promoter methylation of candidate genes, p53 and Aurora A in esophageal cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

One hundred forty-one esophageal tissue samples from different pathologies were evaluated for HPV infection by PCR, while the promoter methylation status of p53 and Aurora A was assessed by methylation-specific restriction based PCR assay. Statistical analyses were performed with MedCalc and MDR software.

RESULTS

Based on endoscopy and histopathology, samples were categorized: cancers (n=56), precancers (n=7), esophagitis (n=19) and normals (n=59). HPV infection was found to be less common in cancers (19.6%), whereas its prevalence was relatively high in precancers (71.4%), esophagitis (57.8%) and normals (45.7%). p53 promoter methylation did not show any significant difference between cancer and normal tissues, whereas Aurora A promoter methylation demonstrated significant association with disease (p=0.00016, OR:5.6452, 95%CI:2.18 to 14.6) when compared to normals. Aurora A methylation and HPV infection was found in a higher percentages of precancer (66.6%), esophagitis (54.5%) and normal (45.2%) when compared to cancers (14.2%).

CONCLUSIONS

Aurora A promoter methylation is significantly associated with esophageal cancer, but the effect of HPV infection on this epigenetic alteration is not significant. However MDR analysis showed that the hypostatic effect of HPV was nullified when the cases had Aurora methylation and tobacco exposure. Further HPV sub-typing may give an insight into its reduced prevalence in esophageal cancer verses normal tissue. However, with the present data it is difficult to assign any significant role to HPV in the etiopathology of esophageal cancer.

Role of human papillomaviruses in esophageal carcinoma: an updated systematic review from 1982 to 2013

ABSTRACT: 

Tobacco, alcohol and betel quid are known etiological agents of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). A meta-analysis in 2012 and a literature update (1982–August 2013) identified 159 studies with a total of 11,310 ESCCs tested for the presence of human papillomaviruses (HPVs). HPV DNA was present in 30.3% of fESCCs, with substantial geographic differences. A recent meta-analysis of 21 case–control studies investigating the HPV–ESCC association showed that HPVs increase the risk of ESCC at least threefold. Vaccine-preventable HPV-16 and HPV-18 are the most commonly identified HPV types in ESCC in both low- and high-incidence settings. HPVs should now be seriously considered as etiological agents for at least a subset of ESCC, and more studies are needed to provide conclusive evidence that HPVs cause ESCC.

Role of human papillomaviruses in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Esophageal cancer (EC) is responsible for almost half a million deaths worldwide annually and has a multifactorial etiology, which may account for its geographical variation in incidence. In the last 30 years the potential of human papillomaviruses (HPV) as oncogenes or co-factors in the tumorigenic process of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) has been widely studied. While the etiology of HPV in cervical and certain other anogenital and aerodigestive cancers has been established, results regarding its role in EC have been largely inconclusive. A causal association can be evaluated only with a case-control study, where normal controls are compared to ESCC cases for the presence of HPV. We reviewed all studies investigating ESCC tissue for HPV DNA and identified 139 that met our inclusion criteria, of which only 22 were case-control studies. Our results support previous findings of higher levels of HPV detection in high-risk ESCC regions than in areas of low risk. In addition, we confirm that the role of HPV in ESCC remains unclear, despite an accumulation of studies on the subject. The variations in investigative technique, study design and sample types tested may account for the lack of consistency in results. There is a need for a meta-analysis of all case-control studies to date, and for large, well-designed case-control studies with adequate power to investigate the association. The potential benefits of prophylactic HPV vaccines could be evaluated if HPV is identified as an etiological factor in EC, highlighting the need for further research in this area.

Human papillomavirus infection in lung vs. oral squamous cell carcinomas: a polymerase chain reaction study

The role of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) has been suspected in pathogenesis of various malignancies; however, the available data are not conclusive. This study aimed to determine and compare the frequency of HPV infection in oral and lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) by a sensitive method. Sixty specimens of oral and lung SCC (30 cases each one) were reevaluated in Tabriz Imam Reza Centre in a 24 month period. Following genomic DNA extract, the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) amplification was performed in presence of specific MY11 and MY09 primers for HPV infection. Three cervical specimens and a combination of PCR solution lacking DNA plus healthy persons' DNA samples were employed as positive and negative controls, respectively. The oral group was significantly older than the lung group (68.90 vs. 56.67 y, p < 0.001) with more males in the latter (83.3 vs. 60%; p = 0.04). Percentages of HPV infection in the oral and lung groups were comparable (20 vs. 10%, respectively; p = 0.47). Majority of patients with HPV infection were older than 60 years (88.9%) or male (88.9%). In the oral group, all these cases were well differentiated and the majority was of lower lip origin (83.3%). In the lung group, 66.7% of these specimens were moderately differentiated and the origin was bronchus in all cases. In conclusion, the rate of HPV infection in lung and oral SCC samples is rather lower than the previous reports in the literature. This rate is apparently higher in the oral than the lung SCC specimens.