[Analysis of the current status of research on human papillomavirus-associated head and neck cancers based on recent Chinese literature]

Objective: To analyze the current status of research on human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated head and neck cancers in China using national and international references.

Methods: We searched for bibliographies in the electronic databases of Sichuan University, including Chinese Biological and Medical Database (CBM), China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), and Wanfang Journal Database. Then, data was selected and extracted to analyze the basic characteristics of HPV-related head and neck cancers, the general prevalence of HPV, and the effects of various clinic pathological indicators on HPV patients.

Results: The general prevalence of HPV was 34.05% among civil patients with head and neck cancers. Our analysis of different clinical and pathological indices that affect HPV-associated oral squamous cell carcinomas revealed that non-smoking and non-drinking groups had higher HPV infection rates compared with smoking (P=0.002) and drinking (P< 0.005) groups. In addition, N2-N3 stage patients had higher detectable rates than N0-N1 stage patients (P=0.027).

Conclusions: The majority of civil research studies on HPV-associated head and neck cancers are concentrated on clinical studies. Thus, the molecular neuropathology and signaling pathway of HPV should be further explored in the future to advance prognostic methods. Moreover, the perspective view of therapeutic vaccines and molecular-targeting treatments should receive close attention. .