Association between the standardized uptake value and high-risk HPV in hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma

Median (18)F-FDG PET/CT maximum standardized uptake values (SUV max) cut-off values of 7.9 or greater were associated with high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) negativity in patients with hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPSCC). Furthermore, median (18)F-FDG PET/CT SUV max cut-off values of 7.9 or greater and high-risk HPV negativity were associated with adverse outcomes.

We studied the association and the potential prognostic significance of (18)F-FDG PET/CT and high-risk HPV status in HPSCC.

The medical records of 45 patients who underwent (18)F-FDG PET/CT for HPSCC before surgery were reviewed. High-risk HPV in situ hybridization was performed to detect HPV infection.

The median SUV max was 9.91 ± 4.91 (range 1.9-22.1) and the positive rate of high-risk HPV in situ hybridization was 11% (5 of 45). The SUV max values of negativity for the high-risk HPV subtypes (10.47 ± 4.87) and positivity (5.48 ± 2.45) were found to be significantly different (p = 0.030). The SUV max cut-off value for differentiating negativity for the high-risk HPV subtypes from positivity was 7.9, with a sensitivity of 65% and a specificity of 80%. The 5-year disease-specific survival rate (DSSR) in our cohort was 57%. Patients with an SUV max value higher than 7.9 (p = 0.005) and high-risk HPV negativity (p = 0.047) had decreased 5-year DSSR.