Although the human papillomavirus (HPV) is a risk factor for certain head and neck cancers, its presence could make all the difference in terms of survival, especially for African Americans with oropharyngeal cancer, according to a study to be presented July 22 at the 8th International Conference on Head & Neck Cancer in Toronto.
HPV has a substantial impact on overall survival in African Americans with oropharyngeal cancer, according to the researchers from Henry Ford Hospital.
The study shows African Americans with oropharyngeal cancer who are HPV-positive have better outcomes than African Americans without HPV. In addition, African Americans who are HPV-negative not only have poorer survival compared with African Americans with HPV, they also did worse than Caucasians both with HPV and without HPV present in oropharyngeal cancer.
To compare survival outcomes in HPV-positive and HPV-negative African Americans with oropharyngeal cancer, a research team led by Maria Worsham, PhD, conducted a retrospective study of 118 patients. Among the study group, 67 were HPV-negative and 51 were HPV-positive; 42 of the study participants were African-American.
Among the study's findings:
- African Americans are less likely to be HPV-positive.
- Those older than 50 are less likely to be HPV-positive.
- Those with late-stage oropharyngeal cancer are more likely to be unmarried and more likely to be HPV-positive.
- HPV-negative patients had 2.9 times the risk of death as HPV-positive patients.
- Overall, the HPV race groups differed with significantly poorer survival for HPV-negative African Americans versus HPV-positive African Americans, HPV-positive Caucasians, and HPV-negative Caucasians.
"This study adds to the mounting evidence of HPV as a racially linked sexual behavior lifestyle risk factor impacting survival outcomes for both African-American and Caucasian patients with oropharyngeal cancer," Worsham stated in a press release.
