Oropharyngeal Cancer Epidemic and Human Papillomavirus

A growing body of research shows that human papillomavirus (HPV) is a common and increasing cause of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Thus, the International Agency for Research against Cancer has acknowledged HPV as a risk factor for OSCC, in addition to smoking and alcohol consumption...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Torbjörn Ramqvist, Tina Dalianis
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2010-11-01
Series:Emerging Infectious Diseases
Subjects:
HPV
Online Access:https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/16/11/10-0452_article
Description
Summary:A growing body of research shows that human papillomavirus (HPV) is a common and increasing cause of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Thus, the International Agency for Research against Cancer has acknowledged HPV as a risk factor for OSCC, in addition to smoking and alcohol consumption. Recently, in Finland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States, and Sweden, incidence of OSCC has increased, and an increase in the proportion of HPV-positive tumors was noted. On the basis of these data and reports indicating that patients with HPV-positive cancer have their first sexual experience at a young age and have multiple partners, we postulate that increased incidence of OSCC in the United States and some countries in northern Europe is because of a new, primarily sexually transmitted HPV epidemic. We also suggest that individualized treatment modalities and preventive vaccination should be further explored.
ISSN:1080-6040
1080-6059