Vaccination Expectations in HNSCC

: Syrjanen Stina, Rautava Jaana

: Wojciech Golusiński, C. René Leemans, Andreas Dietz

Publisher: SPRINGER INT PUBLISHING AG, GEWERBESTRASSE 11, CHAM, CH-6330, SWITZERLAND

: 2017

: Recent Results in Cancer Research

: HPV Infection in Head and Neck Cancer

: HPV INFECTION IN HEAD AND NECK CANCER

: RECENT RESULTS CANC

: Recent Results in Cancer Research

: 206

: 257

: 267

: 11

: 978-3-319-43578-7

: 978-3-319-43580-0

: 0080-0015

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43580-0_21

HPV-associated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), more specifically the incidence of oropharyngeal cancer, is dramatically increasing in industrialized countries. According to what has been learned from anogenital vaccination programs, there are reasons to believe that current human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations may be potentially effective also against HNSCC. However, before specific results on HNSCC are available, one must keep in mind that carcinogenesis in the head and neck region may differ from that of the anogenital tract. Furthermore, the current evidence supports the view that HPV infection is much more complex than simply a sexually transmitted disease. HPV is present in the semen, placenta and in the newborns, and these infections of the newborns create cell-mediated immunity (CMI) against HPV, including the T memory cells. Acquisition of HPV infection in early life will rise new series of questions in the field of HPV vaccination.