Oropharyngeal infections by human papilloma virus (HPV) can be asymptomatic or either be presented as benign or malignant hyperplastic lesions. Currently it has been postulated that infections by HPV genotypes with high oncogenic potential are an independent risk factor for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The clinical characteristics of these patients differ significantly from patients with HNSCC smokers and/or drinkers. The aim of our project is to study patients with HNSCC treated in our institution in 2010, to detect HPV patients and compare them with the rest of HPV negative patients, studying different factors such as epidemiology, clinical manifestation and evolution.

A comprehensive cancer study was conducted for each patient, including anamnesis, radiologic and anatomopathologic studies, to detect HPV and p16. From the data obtained, we developed a comparative study between our sample and we compared our results with those reported in the literature.

Conflict of interest: None declared.