How Does Human Papillomavirus Contribute to Head and Neck Cancer Development?
Affiliation of authors: Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston. Correspondence to: Li Mao, MD, Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, Unit 432, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030 (e-mail: lmao{at}mdanderson.org’ + u + ‘@’ + d + ”//–>) Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the major etiologic factor in the development of cervical cancer (1) and has been the target for detection and prevention of the disease (2,3). Results of recent molecular and epidemiologic studies suggest that HPV may also be an etiologic factor in a subset of head and neck squamous-cell carcinomas (HNSCCs), particularly those that develop at oropharyngeal sites (4 6). In this issue of the Journal, Braakhuis et al. (7) report the striking finding that HNSCCs with active HPV type 16 DNA (i.e., HPV16 DNA that expressed the viral E6 and E7 genes) had substantially lower rates
