Prevalence of oropharyngeal high-risk human papillomavirus in tumor-free tonsil tissue in adults

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of oropharyngeal high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) in patients un-dergoing tonsillectomy by detection of high-risk HPV in tonsil tissues using the in situ hybridization (ISH) technique. Materials and methods: The patients who underwent tonsillectomy between 2014 and 2018 were examined retrospectively. The pediatric cases and patients who underwent tonsillectomy due to malignancy were excluded. The study included 270 adult cases selected by age and gender randomization. The tonsillar tissue of each case was re-examined by the pathology department, and the presence of high-risk HPV was investigated via the ISH technique. Multiple logistic regression models were used for predictions of different factors. Results: The prevalence of high-risk HPV in the 270 patients (male: 154 [57%]; female: 116 [43%]; mean age: 36.44 +/- 12.87 years) was found to be 6.7% (n = 18). The prevalence was found 8.4% in men and 4.3% in women; 8.9% in cases under the age of 40 and 2.9% in cases over the age of 40; and 10.9% in patients who underwent tonsillectomy for infectious indications and 2.3% for non-infectious indications. Multivariate analysis identified that the infectious indications for tonsillectomy were significantly associated with high-risk HPV positivity (OR 5.328; p = 0.009). Conclusions: The prevalence of oropharyngeal high-risk HPV was found to be 6.7% and higher in younger people and men. Additionally, the HPV positivity was found to be higher in patients who underwent tonsillectomy for infectious indications. To our knowledge, this is the first study that reports the correlation between recurrent tonsil infections and HPV positivity in tonsil tissue.