Human papillomavirus 16 infection predicts poor outcome in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Previous studies indicate that human papillomavirus 16 (HPV16) infection plays a pivotal role in the etiology of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). We aim to detect the influence of HPV16 infection on ESCC patient prognosis.

Immunohistochemical staining for HPV16 E6 oncoprotein, the low-affinity p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR), and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) was performed on 103 archived surgical specimens from patients with ESCC and 54 control samples from patients with benign esophageal tumor or inflammatory lesions. All patients were from the Shaan Xi Province, People's Republic of China.

HPV16 E6 expression was significantly higher in the ESCC group (P<0.05). HPV16 E6 expression was significantly higher in men than in women (P<0.05). p75NTR expression was higher in those aged >56 years (P<0.05). PI3K expression was higher in those with a more advanced histopathological grade (P<0.05). There was a positive correlation between HPV16 E6 and p75NTR expression (r=0.547, P<0.001) and between p75NTR and PI3K expression (r=0.364, P<0.001). In 100 evaluable patients, the 5-year overall survival (OS) rate was 11%. In patients with ESCC, HPV16 E6 and PI3K expression were negatively correlated with the 3-year OS (P<0.05), 5-year OS (P<0.05), and progression-free survival (P<0.05).

HPV16 infection likely contributes to the etiology of ESCC patients in Shaan Xi, People's Republic of China. HPV16 infection status and PI3K expression levels could be useful for predicting prognosis in patients with ESCC.