Correlation of p16 status, hypoxic imaging using [18F]-misonidazole positron emission tomography and outcome in patients with loco-regionally advanced head and neck cancer

Abstract

Introduction We investigated the relationship between hypoxia, human papillomavirus (HPV) status and outcome in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Methods Patients with stage III and IV head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treated on phase I and II chemoradiation trials with 70-Gy radiation combined with tirapazamine/cisplatin or cisplatin/fluorouracil (5FU), hypoxic imaging using [18F]-misonidazole positron emission tomography and known HPV status (by p16 immunohistochemistry) were included in this sub-study. Separate analyses were conducted to consider the impact of tirapazamine on HPV-negative tumours in the phase II trial. Results Both p16-positive oropharyngeal tumours and p16-nega..