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Human Papillomavirus and Epstein Barr Virus in Head and Neck Carcinomas: Suggestions for the New WHO Classification

  • Proceedings of the North American Society of Head and Neck Pathology Companion Meeting, March 2, 2014, San Diego, California
  • Published:
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Abstract

In the 9 years since the last World Health Organization (WHO) classification for head and neck tumors, a great deal has changed. In particular, human papillomavirus (HPV) has emerged as the major etiologic agent and patient prognostic marker for squamous cell carcinoma, most profoundly in the oropharynx. It also casts a long shadow over all of the rest of head and neck cancer given its biologic and prognostic implications. By contrast, little has changed regarding our knowledge of Epstein–Barr virus in head and neck cancers, except as it relates to HPV in nonkeratinizing-type nasopharyngeal carcinomas. This article discusses some of the major advances in our understanding of virus-related squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck and suggests several specific concepts and terminology for incorporation into the next WHO classification.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Samir K. El-Mofty DMD, PhD, for his longtime friendship, support of our careers in head and neck pathology, and particularly for inciting our interest in HPV-related tumors. The authors also thank Jingqin (Rosy) Luo, PhD, for the survival analysis and Kaplan–Meier survival curves shown in Fig. 3 on the patients in the authors’ research database, and thank Brian Nussenbaum MD and Wade L. Thorstad MD for their input on the clinical perspectives on treatment of HPV-related oropharyngeal SCC patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Anatomic and Molecular Pathology, Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8118, 660 S. Euclid Ave., St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA

    James S. Lewis Jr. & Rebecca D. Chernock

  2. Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8118, 660 S. Euclid Ave., St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA

    James S. Lewis Jr. & Rebecca D. Chernock

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  1. James S. Lewis Jr.
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  2. Rebecca D. Chernock
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Correspondence to James S. Lewis Jr..

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Lewis, J.S., Chernock, R.D. Human Papillomavirus and Epstein Barr Virus in Head and Neck Carcinomas: Suggestions for the New WHO Classification. Head and Neck Pathol 8, 50–58 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12105-014-0528-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12105-014-0528-6

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