Assessing the Association Between Head and Neck Cancer and Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis

Objective: To determine the odds of head and neck cancer (HNC) in patients with a concurrent or prior diagnosis of granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA). Methods and Materials: The TriNetX Analytics Network, a federated research platform that aggregates de-identified electronic health record data of over 130 million patients worldwide, was queried for patients with at least one ICD-10 encounter diagnosis of GPA. Patients within this group with an encounter diagnosis of cancer of the sinonasal, oral cavity, oropharynx, nasopharynx, and larynx concurrent or after the initial encounter diagnosis of GPA were recorded and compared to a standardized control population to determine odds ratios with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Relevant confounding variables, including human papillomavirus, Epstein Barr virus, tobacco, and alcohol exposure, were balanced between cohorts by 1:1 propensity matching. Results: Of the patients in the GPA cohort, 126 (0.48%) had an ICD-10 diagnosis of HNC. When stratifying by head and neck subsites, 20 (0.08%), 18 (0.07%), 23 (0.09%), 70 (0.27%), and 22 (0.084%) GPA patients had an ICD-10 encounter diagnosis of cancer involving the sinonasal, nasopharynx, larynx, oral cavity, and oropharynx. When comparing the experimental GPA group with the standardized control population after matching, patients in the GPA group had 1.3 times (95% CI: 1.03-1.175) greater odds of HNC when including cases diagnosed after or concurrently with the diagnosis of the vasculitis. There was no statistical difference in the odds of cancer at each anatomical subsite between the GPA and control cohort after matching. Conclusion: Our study identifies a statistically significant increase in the odds of HNC encounter diagnoses in patients with GPA.