Human papillomavirus and survival of patients per histological subsite of tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma

Current data advocate that oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma ( OPSCC ) should be divided into subsites when evaluating the presence of human papillomavirus ( HPV ) and prognosis. More specifically, tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma ( TSCC ) and base of tongue squamous cell carcinoma ( BOTSCC ) have much higher HPV prevalence compared to other OPSCC . Moreover, patients with HPV positive ( HPV +) TSCC and BOTSCC have a better prognosis as compared to patients with HPV negative ( HPV −) corresponding tumors, while the prognostic role of HPV in other OPSCC is unclear. Furthermore, in a recent report from Denmark, TSCC was further subclassified into specified TSCC ( STSCC ) and nonspecified TSCC ( NSTSCC ), with HPV significantly more prevalent in STSCC . In this study, the histopathological influence of HPV prevalence and survival in TSCC was analyzed in a TSCC cohort with known HPV status, of patients diagnosed 1970–2002 in Stockholm. In total, 139 TSCC biopsies with both tumor and adjacent normal tissue were separated into STSCC and NSTSCC . HPV was significantly more commonly found in STSCC than in NSTSCC . Patients with HPV + STSCC had a better disease‐specific and overall survival as compared to patients with HPV + NSTSCC , but no survival differences were observed in patients with HPV − STSCC and NSTCC . These findings confirm previous reports and suggest that TSCC subsite may also be of relevance for clinical outcome and should be further followed up in future studies.