Role of human papillomavirus in head and neck
Main Article Content
Keywords
Human papillomavirus, laryngeal papillomatosis, oropharyngeal carcino¬ma, rhinosinusal carcinoma, laryngeal carcinoma
Abstract
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a double stranded circular DNA virus with around 200 genotypes. This virus is related to different tumor lesions that affect the head and neck, in- cluding malignant squamous lesions caused by high-risk genotypes such as HPV-16 and HPV-18. The objective of this review is to determine the role of HPV in different patholo- gies, distinguishing between benign and malignant lesions, and with particular emphasis on those in which a causal association with the virus has been demonstrated, such as lary- ngeal papillomatosis and oropharyngeal squamous carcinoma. In addition, molecular damage mechanisms, detection and prevention methods such as vaccination against the virus will be analyzed. It is necessary to know the relevance of HPV in our specialty, since its determination may have implications in terms of patient management and prognosis.
