Human Papillomavirus Infection as a Risk Factor for Squamous-Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck.
Mork, Jon; Lie, Kathrine A.; Glattre, Eystein; Clark, Sarah; Hallmans, Goran; Jellum, Egil; Koskela, Pentti; Moller, Bjorn; Pukkala, Eero; Schiller, John T.; Wang, Zhaohui; Youngman, Linda; Lehtinen, Matti; Dillner, Joakim
[Article] New England Journal of Medicine. 344(15):1125-1131, April 12, 2001.

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Background: Oncogenic human papillomaviruses (HPVs), especially HPV type 16 (HPV-16), cause anogenital epithelial cancers and are suspected of causing epithelial cancers of the head and neck.

Methods: To examine the relation between head and neck cancers and HPVs, we performed a nested case-control study within a joint Nordic cohort in which serum samples were collected from almost 900,000 subjects. Samples collected at enrollment from 292 persons in whom squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck developed, on average, 9.4 years after enrollment and from 1568 matched controls were analyzed for antibodies against HPV-16, HPV-18, HPV-33, and HPV-73 and for cotinine levels as a marker of smoking habits. Polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) analyses for HPV DNA were performed in tumor tissue from 160 of the study patients with cancer.

Results: After adjustment for cotinine levels, the odds ratio for squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck in subjects who were seropositive for HPV-16 was 2.2 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.4 to 3.4). No increased risk was observed for other HPV types. Fifty percent of oropharyngeal and 14 percent of tongue cancers contained HPV-16 DNA, according to PCR analysis.

Conclusions: HPV-16 infection may be a risk factor for squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck. (N Engl J Med 2001;344:1125-31.)

Owned, published, and (C) copyrighted, 2001, by the MASSACHUSETTS MEDICAL SOCIETY