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p16 status, pathologic and clinical characteristics, biomolecular signature, and long‐term outcomes in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas of unknown primary
Author(s) -
Keller Lanea M.,
Galloway Thomas J.,
Holdbrook Thomas,
Ruth Karen,
Yang Donghua,
Dubyk Cara,
Flieder Douglas,
Lango Miriam N.,
Mehra Ranee,
Burtness Barbara,
Ridge John A.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/hed.23514
Subject(s) - medicine , head and neck squamous cell carcinoma , tissue microarray , oncology , head and neck , squamous cell cancer , basal cell , head and neck cancer , cell , human papillomavirus , pathology , cancer , biology , surgery , genetics
Background The purpose of this study was to report associations between p16 status, clinicopathologic characteristics, and outcomes for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma of unknown primary (CUP). Methods Specimens of squamous cell CUP were reanalyzed. Human papillomavirus (HPV) status was determined by p16 stain. A tissue microarray (TMA) was constructed to evaluate biomarkers potentially prognostic in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Results A majority of the population ( n = 26; 74%) was p16 positive (+). Prognostic factors benefiting survival were p16+ status ( p < .0001), absence of macroscopic extracapsular extension (ECE; p = .004), younger age ( p = .01), and higher grade ( p = 0.007). The prognostic implication of worse overall survival (OS) with macroscopic ECE ( p = .009) remained significant when limited to patients who were p16+ ( p = .002). Exploratory TMA between unknown primary and controls suggested a biomolecular difference between squamous cell CUP and known‐primary cancer. Conclusion The majority of patients with squamous cell CUP were p16+, indicative of HPV association. P16 staining and ECE seem to be the most prognostic features in squamous cell CUP. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 36: 1677–1684, 2014