HPV-16 viral load in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma using digital PCR.

HPV-16 viral load in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma using digital PCR.

Acta Otolaryngol. 2018 May 09;:1-5

Authors: Antonsson A, Knight L, Panizza BJ, Porceddu SV, Emmett S, Whiteman DC

Abstract
CONCLUSIONS: We did not identify any strong associations between HPV-16 viral load and any of the clinical or lifestyle factors.
OBJECTIVE: The epidemiology of oropharyngeal SCC is changing, with an increasing proportion of HPV-positive cases seen in the last decade. It is known that a high viral load is linked to the development of cervical cancer, the relation between viral load and oropharyngeal SCC is less clear. We sought to determine HPV-16 viral load in HPV-positive oropharyngeal SCCs using highly sensitive digital PCR and to identify clinical and lifestyle factors associated with viral load.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We analysed 45 HPV-16 positive oropharyngeal SCCs diagnosed between 2013 and 2015. All patients completed a lifestyle questionnaire and clinical data were extracted from medical charts. Viral load was determined using digital PCR assays for HPV-L1 and RNAseP.
RESULTS: We found large variations in HPV-16 viral load from 1 to 930 copies per cell (median 34 copies per cell).

PMID: 29741428 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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