Poor prognostic factors in human papilloma virus-positive head and neck cancer: Who should not be candidate of de-escalated treatment?

6078Background: Human papilloma virus (HPV)-associated locally advanced head and neck squamous carcinoma (LA HNSCC) shows favorable treatment outcome, and treatment de-escalation is actively under-investigated. However, not all the HPV+ LA HNSCCs are curable, and some of them shows poor prognosis. The purpose of this study is to identify poor prognostic factors in HPV+ LA HNSCC patients. Methods: Patients who were diagnosed as LA HNSCC and tested for HPV status from 2000 to 2015 were included in this retrospective analysis. Demographic data (age, gender), smoking status, comorbidity, and clinical information about stage, pathology, type of definite treatment were obtained. HPV typing was conducted using HPV DNA genotyping chip or liquid bead microarray. Expression of p16 was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Univariate and multivariate analyses were done with factors associated with overall survival (OS) by Cox regression analysis. Results: One hundred fifty two HPV+ LA HNSCC patients were included in thi...