Head and neck cancer is very frequent around the world about 6%. Cancers in oropharyngeal region associated with Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) type 16 oncogenic virus are presently on steep rise. HPV are small oncogenic DNA virus, nearly 200 types of which have been found till now. HPV can cause the abnormal growth of cells, but only the high-risk types (16, 18, 31, 33, 35 etc.) lead to cancer.
The biology of HPV related oropharyngeal carcinomas is discrete with p53 degradation, RB pathway inactivation, p16 up regulation. Usually HPV related head and neck carcinomas are with good prognosis as they are more responsive to chemotherapy and radiotherapy than HPV negative
Better understanding of the role of this virus in head and neck cancers would open avenues for the application of target specific therapies in the management of HPV associated cancers.
