Assessing the capacity of methylated DNA markers of cervical squamous cell carcinoma to discriminate oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma in human papillomavirus mediated disease.

Oral oncology 2023 Nov

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Early identification of human papillomavirus associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPV(+)OPSCC) is challenging and novel biomarkers are needed. We hypothesized that a panel of methylated DNA markers (MDMs) found in HPV(+) cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) will have similar discrimination in HPV(+)OPSCC tissues. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues were obtained from patients with primary HPV(+)OPSCC or HPV(+)CSCC; control tissues included normal oropharynx palatine tonsil (NOP) and cervix (NCS). Using a methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction, 21 previously validated cervical MDMs were evaluated on tissue-extracted DNA. Discrimination between case and control cervical and oropharynx tissue was assessed using area under the curve (AUC). 34 HPV(+)OPSCC, 36 HPV(+)CSCC, 26 NOP, and 24 NCS patients met inclusion criteria. Within HPV(+)CSCC, 18/21 (86%) of MDMs achieved an AUC ≥ 0.9 and all MDMs exhibited better than chance classifications relative to control cervical tissue (all p < 0.001). In contrast, within HPV(+)OPSCC only 5/21 (24%) MDMs achieved an AUC ≥ 0.90 but 19/21 (90%) exhibited better than chance classifications relative to control tonsil tissue (all p < 0.001). Overall, 13/21 MDMs had statistically significant lower AUCs in the oropharyngeal cohort compared to the cervical cohort, and only 1 MDM exhibited a statistically significant increase in AUC. Previously validated MDMs exhibited robust performance in independent HPV(+)CSCC patients. However, most of these MDMs exhibited higher discrimination for HPV(+)CSCC than for HPV(+)OPSCC. This suggests that each SCC subtype requires a unique set of MDMs for optimal discrimination. Future studies are necessary to establish an MDM panel for HPV(+)OPSCC. Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Citation

Kathleen R Bartemes, Benjamin R Gochanour, David M Routman, Daniel J Ma, Karen A Doering, Kelli N Burger, Patrick H Foote, William R Taylor, Douglas W Mahoney, Calise K Berger, Xiaoming Cao, Sara S Then, Travis J Haller, Alyssa M Larish, Eric J Moore, Joaquin J Garcia, Rondell P Graham, Jamie N Bakkum-Gamez, John B Kisiel, Kathryn M Van Abel. Assessing the capacity of methylated DNA markers of cervical squamous cell carcinoma to discriminate oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma in human papillomavirus mediated disease. Oral oncology. 2023 Nov;146:106568