Background: Comorbidity and anemia strongly influence treatment and outcome of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), but respective data are frequently lacking in clinical studies. We evaluated 149 cases of oropharyngeal SCC primarily treated with surgery regarding the impact of these factors on disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS).
Methods: Data were recorded during treatment and follow-up visits. Human papillomavirus (HPV) association of oropharyngeal SCC was detected by p16 immunohistochemistry.
Results: Patients with p16-positive disease were significantly less comorbid and anemic, and treated more aggressively. Comorbidity and anemia, but not p16 status, significantly influenced DFS and had more impact on OS than p16 status.
Conclusion: In our study, p16-positive seems a good surrogate marker for healthier patients. Patients with p16-positive disease showed improved survival, but this was limited to none/mild comorbid and/or nonanemic individuals in this group. On the basis of our results, we strongly suggest the inclusion of these factors in risk stratification for clinical studies. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 39: 7-16, 2017.
Keywords: anemia; comorbidity; human papillomavirus (HPV); oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC); p16.
© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.