PSCC is a rare cancer, with approximately half of all cases related to HPV. While HPV and p16 IHC testing have proven their prognostic value for oropharyngeal cancer, this is not yet established for PSCC. The current level of evidence exploring the relation between PSCC and HPV is moderate, so we conducted a systematic review following PRISMA guidelines to evaluate the prognostic role of HPV and p16 IHC in PSCC clinical outcomes. We searched the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases and identified 34 relevant studies that met our inclusion criteria. Of these, 33 were retrospective cohort studies, and one was a cross-sectional study. Nine studies reported that HPV-positive and p16-positive PSCC had better overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). This study highlights the need for a meta-analysis to determine the role of routine HPV status or p16 staining testing as part of the initial diagnosis and staging of PSCC patients worldwide.
Cancers. 2023 Jul 21*** epublish ***
Kevin Parza, Arfa Mustasam, Filip Ionescu, Mahati Paravathaneni, Reagan Sandstrom, Houssein Safa, G Daniel Grass, Peter A Johnstone, Steven A Eschrich, Juskaran Chadha, Niki Zacharias, Curtis A Pettaway, Philippe E Spiess, Jad Chahoud
Internal Medicine, USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa, FL 33601, USA., Genitourinary Oncology Department, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL 33601, USA., Graduate Medication Education, USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa, FL 33602, USA., Hematology Oncology Department, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77001, USA., Radiation Oncology Department, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL 33601, USA., Department of Urology, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, Houston, TX 77001, USA.