ICHNO-ECHNO 2022 - Abstract Book

S44

ICHNO-ECHNO 2022

PO-0078 Is smoking the determining prognostic factor in HPV positive oropharyngeal cancer patients?

M. Tagliabue 1 , S. Zorzi 1 , F. Chu 1 , S. Chiocca 1 , J. Zocchi 1 , D. Alterio 1 , M. Cossu Rocca 1 , S. Gandini 1 , F. Bandi 1 , M. Ansarin 1

1 European institute of oncology, Otolaryngology and head and neck surgery, Milan, Italy

Purpose or Objective Although the detection of papillomavirus (HPV) in cancer cells of patients with oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) is considered a positive prognostic factor and de-escalation protocols are tested for this group of patients, recent findings suggest that smoking habits confer a worse prognosis, similar to HPV negative ones. This aspect deserves to be considered when planning therapy and patients’ follow up. With our work we aimed to compare the results of patients with HPV positive OPC treated with curative-intent taking into consideration their smoking habit, to assess whether smoking is a risk factors for worse prognosis Materials and Methods In this single-centre prospective study, patients with HPV positive OPC were included. All patients underwent surgical or chemo-radiotherapy treatment with curative intent between January 2015 and October 2020. All the clinical, pathological, treatment and follow up data were collected and study in univariate and multivariate analysis. Results One hundred and one HPV + patients were enrolled, including 69 (61%) smokers or former smokers patients, 38 (39%) of these were smokers of more than ten packs/years. The mean follow-up time was 29.7 months. Conclusion Regardless of the treatment, surgical or chemo-radiotherapy, among HPV + OPC patients, there were differences in terms of outcome and toxicity depending on smoking habits. Therefore smoking habits should be carefully considered in the therapeutic patient choice and subsequent follow up planning. M. Tagliabue 1 , S. Chiocca 2 , D.B. Rita 1 , M. Ansarin 1 , L. Galati 3 , T. Gheit 3 , S. McKay-Chopin 3 , M.L. Tornesello 4 , G. Blandino 5 , G. De Palma 6 , S. Vecchio 7 , A.V. Paradiso 6 , M. Tommasino 3 1 European institute of oncology, Otolaryngology and head and neck surgery, Milan, Italy; 2 European institute of oncology, Experimental oncology, Milan, Italy; 3 World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France; 4 Italian institute of oncology "G. Pascale", Molecular Biology and Viral Oncology Unit, Naples, Italy; 5 Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Oncogenomics and epigenetics, Rome, Italy; 6 Istituto Tumori "Giovanni Paolo II", Institutional BioBank, Experimental Oncology and Biobank Management Unit, Bari, Italy; 7 IST National Cancer Institute and University of Genova, Medical Oncology, Genoa, Italy Purpose or Objective The incidence of head and neck cancer (HNC) is constantly raising. HNC is a very heterogenous disease, involving several anatomical sites such as oral cavity, larynx, oropharynx and hypopharynx. Oral cancers (OC) and oropharyngeal cancers (OPC) account for nearly 43% and 16% of all cases, respectively. Main cancer risk factors are represented by tobacco smoke and alcohol consumption in OC and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in OPC. Positive outcome of HNC treatments are strongly dependent on early detection of malignant lesions, however a large proportion of OC and OPC are diagnosed at a late stage. Thus, identification of early host and viral biomarkers are urgently required. The use of body fluids (saliva, serum/plasma) of subjects with pre-neoplastic and neoplastic lesions, could provide proof of concept for non-invasive molecular-based screening and early diagnosis. Materials and Methods We have generated a consortium that is supported by “Alleanza Contro il Cancro” to establish a biorepository that comprises HNC tissue and body fluids of the same patient. We aim to determine whether specific viral and host biomarkers for HNC diagnosis can be found in saliva and plasma/serum. For each patient, we are collecting (i) paraffin-embedded (FFPE) cancer tissue blocks or sections, (ii) plasma/serum, (iii) oral exfoliated cells by oral rinse and gargling, (iv) clinical/epidemiological information, and (v) the full pathology report. All specimens will be associated with clinical information. FFPE HNC tissue will be characterized for HPV positivity by determining the presence of viral DNA and RNA. Subsequently, DNA will be extracted from oral exfoliated cells and plasma from all HPV-positive and HPV-negative cases to determine the presence of viral DNA. Finally, we will also determine the presence of HPV antibodies by a serological assay. Results The search for HPV sequences in biological fluids of patients enrolled showed that virus positivity was prevalent in cases with cancer of the oropharyngeal region. Almost all patients positive for HPV had a concordant viral positivity in salivary DNA, providing an indication for an excellent correspondence of the markers. Preliminary results indicate that double HPV DNA positivity in plasma/saliva always corresponds to a high viral load. Conclusion The final aim of this study is to offer new rapid algorithms for early HNC detection in clinical settings. Initial data will be presented. PO-0079 Body fluids biomarkers for head and neck cancer prevention/early diagnosis