A Comparison of Clinical Outcomes Between HPV Positive and HPV Negative Squamous Cell Carcinomas of the Oropharynx.

Abstract

Human papilloma virus (HPV) infection is now recognized as a major risk factor for the development of oropharyngeal head and neck cancers, specifically HPV type 16. HPV-16 positive oropharyngeal cancer may in fact represent a distinct disease entity which is associated with improved prognosis and survival (National Cancer Institute, 2016). In this study, we examined the characteristics of patients with early stage HPV-16 positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma and their post-operative course contrasting the findings to patients with HPV-16 negative tumors. Overall, it was noted that 30-day readmissions and surgical site infections are not affected by the HPV status of the tumor. Robotic surgery is used more frequently with patients who were positive for the HPV infection, and the data suggest that there is a trend toward shorter length of hospital stays as well as a difference in postoperative complications.