GUIDELINES: HUMAN PAPILLOMA VIRUS TESTING IN HEAD & NECK CARCINOMAS

The guidelines for HPV testing of head and neck carcinomas 2017 is available with access to the early release article. Interesting reading and definition of the oral and oropharyngeal anatomic limitations are presented;

"Breaking from a tradition that has broadly grouped all carcinomas arising from the oral and oropharyngeal subsites as oral cancer, these guidelines maintain a sharp distinction between those carcinomas arising in the oropharynx and those arising in the oral cavity proper. Testing for the presence of HPV must be guided by a familiarity with head and neck anatomy, including those structures that define the oral cavity as separate from the oropharynx (Figure 2). The oral cavity proper comprises the lips, gingiva, retromolar trigone, hard palate, buccal mucosa, mobile tongue, and floor of the mouth, whereas the oropharynx comprises the palatine tonsils, soft palate, base of tongue (posterior to the circumvallate papillae), and lateral and posterior pharyngeal walls. Oropharyngeal tonsillar structures (i.e., lingual and palatine tonsils), particular hot spots for HPV-related carcinogenesis, are present in the oropharynx, but not in the oral cavity" Arch Pathol Lab Med. doi: 10.5858/arpa.2017-0286-CP) 

HPV 11- capsid protein
 Deposition authors: Bishop, B., Dasgupta, J., Chen, X.S.; visualization author: User:Astrojan [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2r5k.jpgs

Read the guidelines and download the infographic, teaching material and more