HPV infection has been associated with head and neck
carcinoma (
HNSCC). In the present study, a
tumor collective from Middle Germany was analyzed using two HPV-detection methods, i.e., PCR followed by
agarose gel electrophoresis and microarray chip hybridization. In addition, the predictive value of
tumor morphology was assessed. In total, 76 HNSCCs from 52 patients were examined, including 23 pairs of primaries and corresponding
metastases. The highest rate of positive
tumors was observed in the tonsils, with 76% of the patients and 81% of
tumor samples being positive for high-risk HPV.
DNA chip analysis detected significantly more HPV-positive cases than did
agarose gel electrophoresis. Except for one HPV-33-positive case, all others
tumors harbored HPV 16. There was a good concordance between the HPV status of the primary
tumor and its corresponding
metastasis (21/23 cases, 91%). In two cases, HPV was found only in the primary
tumor but not in the
metastasis. Our results clearly confirmed the high prevalence of HR-HPV in tonsillar
carcinomas with a rate that was even 20% higher than those reported in the literature. Morphology is a valuable
indicator for an HPV association that needs to be confirmed by molecular tests.