Does the human papilloma virus affect the prognosis of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma? An immunohistochemical study

Context
The worldwide increase in the prevalence of laryngeal cancer is a major health problem. Human papilloma virus (HPV) infection is a major cause for laryngeal carcinoma, especially in nonsmokers.
Aim
This study investigated the effect of HPV on laryngeal carcinoma prognosis and whether HPV-associated carcinoma cases carry a better or worse outcome. This was approached by studying the relationship between HPV infection (indicated by p16 immunoreactivity) and various prognostic markers of laryngeal carcinoma such as patients’ age, tumor grade, lymph node metastasis, thyroid cartilage infiltration, and immunohistochemical markers of tumor proliferation such as cyclin D1 and p53.
Materials and methods
This was a preliminary study that included paraffin blocks of 40 cases of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma, obtained either as laryngoscopic biopsies or laryngectomy samples with or without selective neck dissection. All cases were immunostained using antibodies against p16, cyclin D1, and p53.
Statistical analysis
The clinical, histopathological, and immunohistochemical data are summarized as percentages and means±SD. The -test was used to assess differences between qualitative variables, whereas the -test and analysis of variance were used for quantitative variables. A -value less than 0.05 was considered to be significant.
Results
A statistically significant correlation was observed between p16 expression and tumor grade, lymph node metastasis, thyroid cartilage infiltration, and immunoexpressions of cyclin D1 and p53. No other prognostic markers correlated with p16 expression.
Conclusion
HPV-induced squamous cell carcinoma may carry a worse prognosis in the larynx.