A total of 107 paraffin-embedded tissue samples of primarily surgically treated VSCCs were tested for HPV infection and screened for mutations in 14 genes (BRAF, CDKN2A(p16), CTNNB1, FBXW7, FGFR2, FGFR3, FOXL2, HRAS, KRAS, NRAS, PIK3CA, PPP2R1A, PTEN, and TP53) using Sanger sequencing and mass spectrometry.
This study investigates the frequency of HPV infection, p16 and p53 tumour profile and mutations in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), Kirsten RNA Associated Rat Sarcoma 2 Virus (KRAS) and B-Raf proto-oncogene serine/threonine protein kinase (BRAF) genes in tonsillar and non-tonsillar HNSCCs and correlates with clinical outcome and histopathological parameters in previously unstudied cohort of patients.
The tumors were immunohistochemically stained for O6-methylguanine methyltransferase, MLH-1, MSH-2, MSH-6, beta-catenin, chemokine (C-X-C motif) receptor 4, epidermal growth factor receptor, TP53, p16, survivin, and alpha-methylacyl-CoA racemase; assessed for microsatellite instability and mutations in beta-catenin, APC, EGFR, PIK3CA, KRAS, and BRAF; evaluated for micro-RNA expression (miR-21, miR-20a, miR-183, miR-192, miR-145, miR-106a, miR-181b, and miR-203); and examined for evidence of human papillomavirus infection.