HPV-related oral carcinomas becoming more common

February 26, 2008

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The incidence of oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) potentially related to human papillomavirus (HPV) appears to be increasing in the United States, researchers report in the February 1st issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Dr. Maura L. Gillison of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland and colleagues examined data from the US National Cancer Institute registries from 1973 to 2004. The team identified 17,625 OSCCs that were potentially related to HPV and 28,144 that were potentially unrelated, based on factors such as anatomical sites strongly associated with HPV, including the tonsils and base of the tongue.

Over the period investigated, there was a significant 0.80 annual percentage increase in the incidence of HPV-related OSCC. The incidence of HPV-unrelated OSCC remained stable through 1982, and then fell significantly in later years.

The researchers conclude that the data "suggest that the proportion of OSCCs that are potentially HPV-related increased in the United States from 1973 to 2004, particularly among recent birth cohorts, perhaps as a result of changing sexual behaviors."

HPCV-related OSCC appeared more amenable to radiation treatment. In this group, the absolute improvement in 2-year survival from 1973 through 1982 compared to 1993 through to 2004 was 9.9% for localized, 23.1% for regional and 18.6% for distant stages.Corresponding proportions in the HPV-unrelated group were 5.6%, 3.1% and 9.9%.

When treated with radiation, patients with HPV-related OSCCs had significantly higher survival rates than those with HPV-unrelated OSCCs.