Abstract
Objective: Recently, HPV has been associated with HNSCC. However its role in laryngeal SCC (LSCC) is unknown. The objective of this study is to 1) describe a novel HPV-positive LSCC cell line and 2) report the prevalence of HPV-positive LSCC in a select patient population.
Method: Culture of an HPV-positive LSCC primary tumor and derived cell-line determined by p16 immunohistochemical (IHC) staining, HPV in-situ hybridization (ISH), and HPV PCR-MassArray using E6-type-specific primers. Retrospective analysis of the HPV-status in 123 LSCC tissue micro array (TMA) patient specimens from 1985-2000 as determined by p16-IHC and HPV-ISH staining.
Results: A 51-year-old man with no tobacco or alcohol history was diagnosed with a T4N0M0 of the true vocal cord. Tumor location was confirmed by laryngoscopy and CT-imaging. After total laryngectomy the tumor was cultured into a cell line (UM-SCC-105). The primary tumor specimen and LSCC derived UM-SCC-105 are HPV-positive and contain HPV-18 as established by p16 IHC, HPV-ISH and PCR-MassArray. In the TMA cohort, 19% (23/123) of tumors were positive for p16, and 3 were positive for HPV-ISH. Based on p16 and ISH results, 2.4% (3/123) of tumor samples were determined to be HPV-positive.
Conclusion: In this cohort, prevalence of HPV in LSCC was 2.4%. Given the HPV-induced HNSCC cancer epidemic, greater understanding for HPV in LSCC is warranted. UM-SCC-105 is the first HPV-18 positive LSCC cell line described, and it will aid in future research to better understand the pathogenesis of HPV in LSCC.
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