Is immunohistochemical evaluation of p16 in oropharyngeal cancer enough to predict the HPV positivity?

Abstract Aim Our goal was to determine the expression levels of p16 in the cohort of the OPSCC patients and evaluation of the pathological and clinical differences between these two groups including patients’ survival. Background HPV infection is the main causative factor of oropharyngeal cancer (OPSCC). Identification of HPV status in OPSCC requires positive evaluation of viral DNA integration into host cell however, p16 accumulation in the proliferating cell layers has been accepted as an alternative marker for HPV infection. Material and Methods The IHC staining for p16 has been performed in tumor tissue from 382 OPSCC patients. The sample was considered positive based on more than 70% o…