Biological Features of Human Papillomavirus-related Head and Neck Cancers Contributing to Improved Response.

ABSTRACT: Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) are the sixth most common malignancy globally, and an increasing proportion of oropharyngeal HNSCCs are associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV). Patients with HPV-associated tumours have markedly improved overall and disease-specific survival compared with their HPV-negative counterparts when treated with chemoradiation. Although the difference in outcomes between these two groups is clearly established, the mechanism underlying these differences remains an area of investigation. Data from preclinical, clinical and genomics studies have started to suggest that an increase in radio-sensitivity of HPV-positive HNSCC may be responsible for improved outcomes, the putative mechanisms of which we will review here. The Cancer Genome Atlas and

SUBMITTER: Cleary C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5512583 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature