Role of High-Risk HPV Detected by PCR in Malignant Sinonasal Inverted Papilloma: A Meta-Analysis

Introduction: Prior studies suggest that there may be a link between human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and malignant sinonasal inverted papilloma (SNIP). This systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to further evaluate this potential association.

Study design: Systematic review with meta-analysis.

Methods: The Medline and Embase databases were used to identify case-control studies reporting the risk of malignant SNIP in patients with high-risk HPV subtypes identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Meta-analysis was performed to determine pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Results: Twenty-one studies were identified, including a total of 841 subjects with SNIP. Seventeen studies were included in the final analysis, as four studies did not have any HPV-positive tumors in either group. A total of 56 malignant SNIP and 551 benign SNIP were ultimately identified. The pooled log-OR was 1.80 (95% CI: 1.03-2.57) for all high-risk HPV subtypes. Stratification by high-risk HPV subtype showed a log-OR of 1.67 (95% CI: 0.88-2.46) for HPV-16 and log-OR of 2.68 (95% CI: 1.30-4.05) for HPV-18.

Conclusion: Infection with high-risk HPV subtypes may be associated with an increased risk of malignant SNIP. HPV-18 showed the greatest overall average effect size of the common high-risk subtypes.

Level of evidence: NA Laryngoscope, 132:926-932, 2022.