TY - JOUR
T1 - The Role of Age and Merkel Cell Polyomavirus in Oral Cavity Cancers
AU - Windon, Melina
AU - Fakhry, Carole
AU - Rooper, Lisa
AU - Ha, Patrick
AU - Schoppy, David
AU - Miles, Brett
AU - Koch, Wayne
AU - Vosler, Peter
AU - Eisele, David
AU - D’Souza, Gypsyamber
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation 2020.
PY - 2020/12
Y1 - 2020/12
N2 - The incidence of oral tongue cancer, the majority subsite of oral cavity cancer, is rising among young people with less exposure to tobacco and alcohol. Viral causes have been proposed, including Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV). We evaluated patient and tumor characteristics among 126 incident oral cavity cancers (OCCs). Consistent with generational norms, younger patients had less exposure to tobacco and a greater number of oral sexual partners than older OCCs. In addition, younger patients were more likely to present at an earlier stage and with cancer arising from the oral tongue (each P <.05). A subset of 44 cases was centrally tested for MCPyV large T antigen expression by immunohistochemistry. In the presence of controls, none of the tumors expressed MCPyV. These findings exclude consideration of MCPyV as an etiologic factor in OCC and may generate hypotheses for future examinations of the factors underlying the rise in oral tongue cancers.
AB - The incidence of oral tongue cancer, the majority subsite of oral cavity cancer, is rising among young people with less exposure to tobacco and alcohol. Viral causes have been proposed, including Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV). We evaluated patient and tumor characteristics among 126 incident oral cavity cancers (OCCs). Consistent with generational norms, younger patients had less exposure to tobacco and a greater number of oral sexual partners than older OCCs. In addition, younger patients were more likely to present at an earlier stage and with cancer arising from the oral tongue (each P <.05). A subset of 44 cases was centrally tested for MCPyV large T antigen expression by immunohistochemistry. In the presence of controls, none of the tumors expressed MCPyV. These findings exclude consideration of MCPyV as an etiologic factor in OCC and may generate hypotheses for future examinations of the factors underlying the rise in oral tongue cancers.
KW - Merkel cell
KW - head and neck cancer
KW - oral tongue cancer
KW - polyomavirus
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85086776136&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85086776136&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0194599820932553
DO - 10.1177/0194599820932553
M3 - Article
C2 - 32571145
AN - SCOPUS:85086776136
SN - 0194-5998
VL - 163
SP - 1194
EP - 1197
JO - Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (United States)
JF - Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (United States)
IS - 6
ER -
