Prevalence and genotypes of human papilloma virus in laryngeal cancer in a small cohort of patients from southern Italy

Objective: An important and consistent association between HPV and oropharynx tumors has emerged across different countries and ethnic groups, whereas the worldwide HPV prevalence of other head and neck sites is still unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and genotype of human HPV in laryngeal SCC treated by surgery in a Southern Italian population. Methods: Previously untreated patients affected by laryngeal carcinoma who underwent surgical treatment were considered for this retrospective study. Formalin fixed paraffin-embedded tumor cell blocks were taken either from primary resections or biopsies of the histological confirmed laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Tissue specimens were processed for immunohistochemical p16 protein (surrogate HPV marker) detection and Human papillomavirus DNA detection by PCR. Results: Nuclear expression of p16 in tumor cells was detected in ten of the 40 (25%) laryngeal carcinomas. Genotypic identification was performed on 22 out of the total of 40 starting patients. HPV DNA sequences were detected in 6 (27.27%) of the 22 patients examined. High-risk viral genotypes 16, 39, 52 and 67 were identified in 4 patients, one of which showed coinfection with 16- 52 genotypes. Low-risk HPV 61 and 62 were detected in 2 cases. Conclusions: This study, concerning a small southern Italian patients series, confirms that HPV could be involved in the development of a subset of laryngeal tumors.