The importance of plasma-based circulating DNA diagnostics in patients with HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer

INTRODUCTION

A human papillomavirus (HPV) origin for oropharyngeal cancer (OPSCC) patients is evident. HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer is classified as a subtype of OPSCC with specific clinicopathological features. In this work, we presented the clinicopathological results, which focused on the circulating HPV16 DNA (cHPV16) detection in blood of OPSCC patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Consecutive patients treated definitively with radiotherapy (RT) or radiochemotherapy (ChRT) for OPSCC between 2011 and 2015 at the Maria Sklodowska-Curie Memorial Cancer Center and Institute of Oncology were included in our study. QPCRs were performed for quantitating DNA in the plasma. Multivariate analysis was performed with the following variables in the model: age, sex, cigarette consumption, T classification, N classification, cHPV16 and locoregional control (LRC).

RESULTS

Oropharyngeal cancer patients analysis revealed that the frequency of detecting cHPV16 in plasma samples was 35% (52/148). During age of onset analysis, the median age of HPV-positive OPSCC patients was similar to HPV-negative OPSCC. In the cHPV16-positive OPSCC patients, HPV16 DNA detection in the blood was enhanced owing to advanced N disease (OR 2.6). Among HPV-positive patients, 50% (26/52) were never smoked, 35% (18/52) current smoker, 18% (8/52) former smoker. The odds of never smoked in HPV-positive patients were 7 times greater than the odds of never smoked in HPV-negative OPSCC patients. Multiple regression analysis between cHPV16 and clinical parameters revealed that the most important predictor for cHPV16 detection was no smoking (beta coefficient = −0.439, p < .0001). Kaplan-Meier analysis of time to treatment failure revealed that cHPV16-positive OPSCC patients had longer time to treatment failure than cHPV16-negative (p = 0.03).

CONCLUSION

The clinicopathological results of circulating HPV16 DNA in blood are consistent with the results of other work. However, in our group HPV-related OPSCC patients do not tend to be younger.

This study was supported by grant from National Center of Research and Development (TANGO2/340829/NCBR/2017; A. Mazurek)