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Spouses of patients with HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer not at increased risk
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CHICAGO — Spouses of patients with HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer were no more likely to test positive for oral HPV infection than individuals in the general population, according to study results presented at the ASCO Annual Meeting.
“The majority of all oropharyngeal cancers in the United States are caused by HPV, and the incidence of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancers is increasing significantly,” Gypsyamber D‘Souza, PhD, MPH, MS, associate professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University, said during a press conference. “Patients with this diagnosis worry about oral HPV transmission and the risk to their partners.”
For this reason, D’Souza and colleagues set out to assess whether oral HPV infection was elevated among spouses of patients with HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer.
The analysis included 147 patients with HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer and 83 spouses/partners. Most patients were male.
Samples were obtained via a mouth rinse and gargle procedure at diagnosis and again 1 year later, and they were tested for 36 HPV types.
HPV DNA was detected in 66% of patients. Results from the oral samples obtained at 1-year follow-up indicated only 7% of patients had detectable oral HPV infection after having undergone cancer treatment.
Samples then were assessed from spouses and compared with data from a NHANES population of a similar age range (median age, 65 years).
The overall oral HPV prevalence among spouses and partners was 7.2%, while a visual oral exam showed no cancers or pre-cancers in 64% of spouses and partners.
Among the 75 female spouses and partners, 5% had detectable HPV, D’Souza said. That percentage is comparable to the 4% prevalence among women in the general population.
The prevalence of detectable HPV among male partners and spouses also was similar to the rate found in the general population, D’Souza said.
Researchers reported HPV-16, the subtype responsible for the majority of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancers, was detected in 54% of the 147 patients evaluated in the initial part of the analysis. However, only two female partners had an HPV-16 infection detected at low numbers, and no male partners tested positive for HPV-16.
“Taken together, these results were very reassuring that oral HPV prevalence is not more common among the spouses of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer patients when compared with the general population,” D’Souza said. “This suggests these partners have been exposed in the past, but have cleared these infections.”
For more information:
D’Souza G. Abstract # CRA6031.Presented at: ASCO Annual Meeting; May 31-June 4, 2013; Chicago.
Disclosure: The researchers report research funding from Merck.