Human papillomavirus prevalence in oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma in South America

Background: Some studies have addressed the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) in head and neck cancer in South America; however, no studies have systematically gathered prevalence and conducted a meta-analysis. Aim: This study aims to estimate the prevalence of HPV in oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas in South America. Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis using the following databases: PubMed, Embase, Lilacs, Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science. Data were extracted and analyzed using random-effects models to estimate the pooled prevalence of HPV. Results: We identified 209 nonduplicated studies, of which 38 were selected. The overall prevalence of HPV was 24.31% (95% CI 16.87–32.64; I2 = 96%, pheterogeneity <0.001). HPV prevalence in oropharyngeal cancer was 17.9% (95% CI 7.6–31.4; I2 = 96%, pheterogeneity <0.001) and that in oral cavity cancer was 23.19% (95% CI 14.94–32.63; I2 = 94%, pheterogeneity <0.001). Conclusions: We found an overall prevalence of HPV in 24.31% of oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas in South American patients. The prevalence of HPV was 17.9% for oropharyngeal cancer and 23.19% for oral cavity cancer.