Immunoprofiling in patients with HPV-associated and non-associated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) remain a significant cause of morbidity worldwide, with approximately 550,000 new cases diagnosed each year. The main etiological factors include smoking and alcohol consumption. The incidence of non-oropharyngeal HNSCC is gradually decreasing while the incidence of squamous cell oropharyngeal carcinoma (OPSCC) is still on the rise. This increasing incidence can be most likely attributed to an increasing prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. From the clinical point of view the most significant fact is that patients with HPV positive OPSCC have better prognosis. HNSCC is linked to an alteration in the immune system. Only a limited number of studies have correlated both the immunological parameters and HPV status with patient prognosis. Therefore, we focused on the research of the immunological profile of patients with HNSCC of viral and non-viral etiology. In our study, 110 patients with HNSCC were enrolled. They were divided into HPV-positive and HPV-negative groups based on the expression of HPV 16 E6 mRNA detected in the tumor tissue. Basic lymphocyte subpopulations (CD3+, CD4+ CD25+ Treg, CD4+ CD25+ FoxP3 Treg, CD4+, CD8+, CD19, and CD3- CD16+ CD56+ cells) were determined by flow cytometry in the peripheral blood (PB). We observed..