Abstract
Numerous studies have already reported that HPV infection is a good prognostic factor for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC), but most of these studies involved patients undergoing radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy. In contrast, few studies have addressed how HPV infection affects the outcomes of surgical therapy. Therefore, in the current study, the relationship between HPV infection status and prognosis in patients who underwent first-line surgical therapy and chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for HPV-related OPSCC were evaluated. In patients who were treated with up-front surgery, HPV infection status did not significantly affect disease-free survival (log-rank p=0.13). Next, we extracted the patients according to treatment modality. After undergoing CRT as a first-line therapy, 8 of the 46 HPV-positive patients experienced disease recurrence (17.4%)；of these, 5 patients died (10.9%). Regarding to surgery as a first-line therapy, 5 of the 33HPV-positive patients experienced disease recurrence (21.2%)；of these, 2 patients died (6.1%). The disease-free survival and Overall Survival indicated that there was no significant association with first-line therapy. For patients with disease recurrence primary surgical treatment was associated with improved overall survival after progression (p=0.04)
