Prevalence of Human Papillomavirus Infection in Greek Patients with Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Larynx

Background/Aim: The causal relation between human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the larynx has not been yet clarified. The aim of the present study was to investigate HPV infection in 54 SCC of the larynx and correlate it with patients' epidemiological and clinicopathological data. Materials and Methods: Fifty-four biopsies were collected from patients with laryngeal SCC and tested for HPV DNA. Local recurrence analysis was performed at the 2- year follow-up. Results: HPV DNA was detected in 18.5% (10154) of laryngeal SCC; infection from high risk (hr) HPV and low risk (lr) HPV types was found in 16.7% (9/54) and 1.8% (1/54) of the samples, respectively. HPV 16 was the commonest type detected in 7.5% (4/54). The presence of HPV DNA was significantly associated with the absence of tobacco use (p=0.001) and poorly differentiated tumors (p=0.003). Conclusion: This study confirms the prevalence of HPV infection among patients with SCC of the larynx.