Disease relevance of Tonsillar Neoplasms

• HPV-16 was quantified by real-time PCR and most tonsillar cancers contained between 10 to a few hundred copies of HPV per beta-actin [1].
• HPV type 31 was found in one laryngeal cancer with normal p53 and HPV type 16 in two tonsil cancers with aberrant p53 expression [2].

High impact information on Tonsillar Neoplasms

• The better outcome for patients with HPV(+) tonsillar cancer was independent of TNM stage, nodal status, gender and age [3].
• Comparisons of the tonsillar and combined cervical data showed that tonsillar cancers were significantly more likely to be p53-positive, whereas cervical cancers were significantly more likely to overexpress pRb, p16 and p27 [4].
• RESULTS: Local control of the tonsillar cancer was as follows: T2, four of five patients; T3, seven of seven; and T4, five of nine [5].
• There was a trend toward increased p53 gene mutation expression with advancing stage of tumor in the oral cavity cancer group, although this was less evident in the tonsil cancer population [6].
• One hundred and twenty-two patients with cancer of the tonsil presented at the University of British Columbia Cancer Control Agency between 1970-80 [7].

Anatomical context of Tonsillar Neoplasms

• Neither p53 gene mutation nor HPV infection serve as prognosticators of tumor behavior in SCCs of the oral cavity or tonsils, with the exception of improved survival noted among patients with tonsil cancers infected with HPV [6].

References