Objectives This retrospective study aims to elucidate the clinical associations of HPV-16, HPV-18, and p16 expression with clinicopathological parameters, risk behaviors, and survival outcomes in head and neck cancer patients from the western Indian population.

Methods Clinical data of total 92 enrolled HNC patients diagnosed between years 2021 and 2023 were retrospectively collected from medical records. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded blocks of all enrolled patients were collected whose p16 expression by immunohistochemistry tests were already performed. HPV-16 and HPV-18 infection was studied by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Associations between viral status, p16 expression, clinicopathological parameters, risk behaviors, and survival outcomes were assessed using SPSS statistical software version 20. p-Value ≤0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

Results Among the 92 enrolled HNC patients, HPV-16 infection was detected in only 12 (13%) patients, with the remaining 80 (87%) testing negative. No HPV-18 infections were observed in any patient. Additionally, p16 expression was positive in only 13 (14%) patients, while 79 (86%) showed negative expression. A statistically significant correlation was found between metastasis involvement and positive HPV-16 infection (p < 0.001), with all HPV-16-positive cases exhibiting metastasis. A trend was also noted between the base of tongue and other clinical site subtypes with positive HPV-16 infection (p = 0.063). However, no other clinicopathological or risk behaviors showed significant associations with HPV-16 infection and p16 expression. Overall survival analysis revealed that neither HPV-16 infection nor p16 expression served as significant prognosticators in the HNC patient cohort (p > 0.05).

Conclusion This study provides comprehensive insights into the clinical relevance of HPV-16, HPV-18 infections, and p16 expression in HNC among the western Indian population. Understanding the associations between HPV-16, HPV-18, and p16 expression with clinicopathological parameters and survival outcomes may aid in optimizing patient management strategies, including personalized treatment approaches and targeted interventions. Further prospective studies are warranted to validate these findings and explore potential therapeutic implications.

The study was funded by The Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute and The Gujarat Cancer Society.

Received: 17 June 2024

Accepted: 21 September 2024

Article published online:
18 November 2024

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