Correlation of human papillomavirus infection and clinical parameters with five-year survival in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Objective This study associated Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection and other clinical parameters with five-year survival of oral squamous cell carcinoma patients at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. Methods A total of 140 patients diagnosed with oral squamous cell carcinoma were enlisted. HPV status and subtypes were established through polymerase chain reaction performed in a previously published study. Clinical data including five-year survival were obtained through institutional medical records. Results Ninety-five patients (67.9 per cent) were positive for HPV. Of these, 85 patients were HPV 16 positive while 2 patients were HPV 18 positive. The mean survival time for HPV positive patients was 44.3 months, whereas survival time for HPV negative patients was 46.9 months. Univariate analysis showed that HPV status in oral squamous cell carcinoma was not a statistically significant factor in determining five-year survival rate (p = 0.386). Conclusion There is a high prevalence of HPV positive oral squamous cell carcinoma in Pakistan; however, there is no difference in the five-year survival rate when compared to HPV negative oral squamous cell carcinoma.