Heterogeneity and irregularity of pretreatment 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography improved prognostic stratification of p16-negative high-risk squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx

Human papillomavirus (HPV)-unrelated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) has dismal prognosis [1,2]. Based on the RTOG-0129 study, patients with a history of heavy smoking (>10 pack-years) or T4 disease have greater risk of disease progression or death [1,3,4]. Immunohistochemical analysis of p16 is used as a surrogate marker for HPV infection. For p16-negative OPSCC, O ’Sullivan et al. introduced rearrangement of the T- and N-stage cancer and classified patients into low- (T1–T2, no N3 disease) and high-risk (T3–T4 or N3) groups of distant metastases [5,6].

Source: Oral Oncology - February 4, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Nai-Ming Cheng, Yu-Hua Dean Fang, Din-Li Tsan, Li-Yu Lee, Joseph Tung-Chieh Chang, Hung-Ming Wang, Shu-Hang Ng, Chun-Ta Liao, Lan-Yan Yang, Tzu-Chen Yen Source Type: research