Oropharyngeal cancer is no longer a disease of younger patients and the prognostic advantage of Human Papillomavirus is attenuated among older patients: Analysis of the National Cancer Database

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is responsible for a unique and growing subset of oropharyngeal cancers (OPCs) in the United States (U.S.) [1]. These HPV-positive OPCs (HPV-OPCs) arise primarily from the immunologically specialized reticulated stratified squamous lymphoepithelium investing the lymphoid tissues of the palatine and lingual tonsils, rather than the continuous stratified squamous epithelium of the soft palate and posterior pharyngeal walls that more often harbors HPV-negative OPCs [2,3].

Source: Oral Oncology - June 26, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Eleni M. Rettig, Munfarid Zaidi, Farhoud Faraji, David W. Eisele, Margueritta El Asmar, Nicholas Fung, Gypsyamber D'Souza, Carole Fakhry Source Type: research