RB1 alterations may have important prognostic implications, particularly in the context of high p16 expression, in both HPV-positive and HPV-negative HNSCC.
Whilst a combination of PCR-based DNA detection and p16 IHC is useful, the latter has excellent specificity, acceptable sensitivity and good predictive value for carriage of HPV in this population and should be used for prognostic evaluation and treatment planning of all HNSCC patients in South Asia, as in the Western world.
Overall survival after recurrence of HNSCC is influenced by the HNSCC subsite and human papillomavirus or p16 status, as well surgical and systemic interventions.
These include the subjective nature of IHC evaluation, the variable mechanisms of p16 expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and the lack of scoring and interpretive criteria.
The authors assessed the performance characteristics for the Roche cobas 4800 HPV real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based system (cobas) on cytologic specimens of HNSCC compared with standard methods of in situ hybridization (ISH) for HR-HPV and immunohistochemistry (IHC) for p16 on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue.
The results from this analysis suggest that p16 and HPV status have prognostic value in R/M SCCHN and survival benefits of chemotherapy plus cetuximab over chemotherapy alone are independent of tumor p16 and HPV status.
We hypothesised p16 staining that considered nuclear localisation might be informative for predicting outcomes in a broader set of HNSCC tumours not limited to the oropharynx, human papilloma virus (HPV) status or by smoking status.
To examine the association between CD44 and c-MET expression in relation to p16 and EGFR in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).
A p16 protein is known to be overexpressed in human papillomavirus-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma specimens. p53 is a tumor suppressor protein detectable by immunohistochemistry in carcinogen-associated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma as a result of gene mutations.
In the clinical samples of HNSCC, high expression of TrkA and panTrk were more associated with oropharyngeal and p16 positive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).
Promoter methylation of the death-associated protein kinase and p16 gene has been found in about 55% and 30% cases of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma respectively but has not yet been analyzed in cutaneous premalignant and malignant lesions.
We summarize current biomarkers in order of clinical utility; p16 and human papillomavirus status remain the most important and validated biomarkers in HNSCC.