Prevalence and characteristics of HPV-driven oropharyngeal cancer in France

Background: France has one of the highest incidence of head and neck cancers in Europe. Despite this, the epidemiological impact of high-risk human papilloma virus (HR-HPV) remains poorly investigated. Methods: We prospective assessed the proportion of oropharyngeal cancers due to HR-HPV in 15 hospitals throughout France. HPV-status was determined by p16-immunohistochemistry, and by detection of HPV-DNA using in situ hybridization. Cancers were classified as HPV-driven if both p16-immunohistochemistry and HPV-DNA assays were positive. Demographical and clinical features were recorded. Results: 291 patients with palatine-tonsil or tongue-base cancers were recruited from March-2011 to July-2012. Of these, 43.1% of samples were p16-positive and 37.7% were positive for both p16 and HPV-DNA. Prognosis was significantly better in patients with HPV-driven cancers, with smoking negatively impacting patients' on-cological outcomes. Conclusion: In France, more than a third of tonsillar and tongue base cancers are HPV-driven. More research concerning the evolution of HPV-driven cancers over time is needed.