Background: Sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma (SNUC) is a high-grade, aggressive neoplasm. Low incidence and poor outcomes make identification of prognostic factors and treatment standardization difficult. Similarly, little is known regarding the association of human papillomavirus (HPV) with SNUC.
Methods: A retrospective review was conducted. Extracted information included treatment received, tumor recurrence, patient survival, p16 expression, and HPV status. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Survival trends were compared using the log-rank test.
Results: Nineteen patients received multimodality treatment for SNUC. Five-year OS and DFS rates were 45.2% and 50.7%, respectively, with no significant difference between treatment types. Tumors from 11 patients were p16-positive and 9 of these were also HPV-positive. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated improved survival.
Conclusion: Our series demonstrates a higher prevalence of HPV in SNUC than previously reported. HPV-positive SNUCs may benefit from improved survival and should be investigated further in future studies.
Keywords: human papillomavirus; p16; sinonasal malignancy; sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma; treatment.
© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.