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Impact of HPV status on metastatic patterns and survival in non-oropharyngeal head and neck cancer with distant metastasis

  • Laryngology
  • Published:
European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Because of the lack of data and studies on metastatic non-oropharyngeal head and neck cancer (non-OP HNC), the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) status in non-OP HNC with distant metastasis is still unclear. Therefore, we conducted a study to explore the differences in metastatic patterns, survival and treatment responses in metastatic non-OP HNC based on HPV status.

Methods

A total of 333 metastatic non-OP HNC patients were diagnosed from 2010 to 2016 in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. The chi‐square test and Fisher's exact test were used to make comparisons for categorical variables. The Kaplan–Meier method and Cox regression analyses were used to analyse survival.

Results

HPV status was a significant prognostic variable for patients with non-OP HNC with distant metastasis. HPV− patients were more likely to have distant metastasis and worse prognosis and treatment response than HPV+ patients. Only chemotherapy was an independent prognostic factor for HPV+ patients with distant metastasis, while chemotherapy and radiotherapy were both independent prognostic factors for HPV− patients with distant metastasis. The treatment response was associated with the metastatic pattern in both HPV+ and HPV− populations and showed significant differences based on HPV status and metastatic pattern.

Conclusions

For non-OP HNC with distant metastasis, HPV+ and HPV− patients formed two different cohorts in terms of metastatic pattern, survival and treatment. Therefore, it is helpful to classify metastatic non-OP HNC into different groups to choose appropriate treatment strategies according to HPV status and metastatic pattern.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the SEER database on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the SEER program for providing open access to the database.

Funding

This study was funded by the SHANGHAI ANTI-CANCER FOUNDATION, China International Medical Foundation (Z-2014-06-2103) and SHENYANG BUREAU OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY(RC210153 and 21-172-9-14).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China

    Ping Wang, Miao Zhang, Guang Li & Qiao Qiao

  2. School of Nursing, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China

    Shuang Zang

  3. Department of Otolaryngology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China

    Yan Wang

Authors
  1. Ping Wang
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  2. Shuang Zang
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  3. Miao Zhang
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  4. Guang Li
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  5. Yan Wang
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  6. Qiao Qiao
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Contributions

PW and QQ designed the study. PW, SZ and MZ collected and analyzed the data. PW drafted the study. GL, YW and QQ revised the study finally.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yan Wang or Qiao Qiao.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical approval

The SEER database is an open database. Data-released from the SEER database do not require informed patient con-sent, because cancer is a reportable disease in every state of the United States. The present study complied with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 21 KB)

405_2022_7259_MOESM2_ESM.tif

Supplementary file2 Figure S1: The impact of HPV status on treatment response. (A) Kaplan-Meier survival curves for patients receiving chemotherapy. (B) Kaplan-Meier survival curves for patients receiving radiotherapy. (C) Kaplan-Meier survival curves for patients who underwent surgery (TIF 514 KB)

405_2022_7259_MOESM3_ESM.tif

Supplementary file3 Figure S2: AUCs for predicting 1- and 3-year overall survival in HPV + and HPV non-OP HNC with distant metastasis (TIF 788 KB)

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Supplementary file4 Figure S3: Kaplan–Meier curves of overall survival in HPV + non-OP HNC with DL metastasis vs other sites of metastasis (TIF 847 KB)

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Supplementary file5 Figure S4: Kaplan–Meier curves of overall survival in HPV-non-OP HNC with bone metastasis vs other sites of metastasis (TIF 866 KB)

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Wang, P., Zang, S., Zhang, M. et al. Impact of HPV status on metastatic patterns and survival in non-oropharyngeal head and neck cancer with distant metastasis. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 279, 3029–3039 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-022-07259-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-022-07259-0

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