HPV status in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma in the United States: A SEER database study

Purpose: To investigate the etiologic and prognostic role of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC). Materials and methods: Patients diagnosed with NPC were identified with the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Logistic regression was used to investigate the effect of clinicopathologic predictors on HPV positivity in NPC. Survival analyses were performed with Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regression models. Results: 180/517 patients (34.8%) with known HPV testing were positive for HPV-associated NPC. East Asians and individuals over 25 were less likely to have HPV-associated NPC, while controlling for AJCC-7 stage and AJCC-7 M stage. According to the survival analysis, cause-specific survival (CSS) did not differ significantly by HPV status throughout the study period, but did differ significantly by HPV ethnicity group. Conclusions: The clinical implications of HPV in NPC are further elucidated but require more investigation.