Human papillomavirus in head and neck carcinomas: Prevalence, physical status and relationship with clinical/pathological parameters

The association of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection to head and neck sq uamous cell carcinomas was evaluated in 66 patients affected by tumours of the oral cavity (n=38), the tonsil (n=4), the pharynx (n=2), and the larynx (n=22). HPV DNA was detected by PCR-based assays, recognizing late and ear ly genes. Twenty-four cases were HPV infected (36.4%), mostly by high and/o r intermediate risk types. HPV 16 was integrated in 7/12 positive tumours w ithout site-specificity. HPV infection was not related to age, gender, tumo ur stage, differentiation grade, and use of alcohol and/or tobacco. The fin dings indicate that HPV infection may be related to a proportion of head an d neck carcinomas but its association is not as clear as that found in cerv ical cancer.