HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (1) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Ragin, C.C.R. Articles by Gollin, S.M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Ragin, C.C.R. Articles by Gollin, S.M.

The Epidemiology and Risk Factors of Head and Neck Cancer: a Focus on Human Papillomavirus

¹ Departments of Human Genetics and
² Epidemiology, the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, 130 DeSoto Street, Room A300,
³ Otolaryngology, and Pathology, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine,
⁴ the Head and Neck SPORE at the University of Pittsburgh, and the
⁵ University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA

^* corresponding author, ragincc{at}upmc.edu

Head and neck cancer was the eighth leading cause of cancer death worldwide in 2000. Although the incidence of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in the United States is relatively low, survival is poor and has not improved for several decades. While tobacco and alcohol are the primary risk factors for HNSCC development, epidemiological studies report a strong association with human papillomavirus (HPV) in a subset of HNSCC. More than 95% of cervical squamous cell carcinomas are linked to persistent HPV infection; evidence demonstrates that HPV is a necessary carcinogen. Not all HPV-positive HNSCC express the viral oncogenes (E6 and E7), which suggests that HPV may function as a carcinogen in a smaller proportion of HNSCC. This review presents our current understanding of the relationship between HPV and HNSCC, and describes future research directions that may lead to a better understanding of the involvement of HPV in head and neck cancer.

KEY WORDS: human papillomavirus • oral cancer • risk factors

This article has been cited by other articles:

				Q. Sun, T. Sakaida, W. Yue, S. M. Gollin, and J. Yu Chemosensitization of head and neck cancer cells by PUMA Mol. Cancer Ther., December 1, 2007; 6(12): 3180 - 3188. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Chen, Z. Hu, L.-E Wang, E. M. Sturgis, A. K. El-Naggar, W. Zhang, and Q. Wei Single-nucleotide polymorphisms at the TP53-binding or responsive promoter regions of BAX and BCL2 genes and risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck Carcinogenesis, September 1, 2007; 28(9): 2008 - 2012. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]