HPV impact on oropharyngeal cancer radiological staging: 7th vs 8th edition of AJCC TNM classification

Elisa Dal Cin; Alberto Vito Marcuzzo; Ferruccio Degrassi; Tiziana Volo; Roberto Spinato; Doriano Politi; Vincenzo Capriotti; Paolo Boscolo-Rizzo; Giancarlo Tirelli

doi:10.1016/j.clinimag.2022.10.010

HPV impact on oropharyngeal cancer radiological staging: 7th vs 8th edition of AJCC TNM classification

Clin Imaging. 2023 Jan:93:39-45. doi: 10.1016/j.clinimag.2022.10.010. Epub 2022 Nov 3.

Authors

Elisa Dal Cin¹, Alberto Vito Marcuzzo², Ferruccio Degrassi³, Tiziana Volo⁴, Roberto Spinato⁴, Doriano Politi⁴, Vincenzo Capriotti², Paolo Boscolo-Rizzo², Giancarlo Tirelli²

Affiliations

¹ ENT Clinic, Head and Neck Department, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy. Electronic address: dalcin.elisa@gmail.com.
² ENT Clinic, Head and Neck Department, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
³ Radiology Department, Cattinara Hospital, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
⁴ ENT Clinic, Head and Neck Department, Mestre Hospital, Venice, Italy.

PMID: 36375362
DOI: 10.1016/j.clinimag.2022.10.010

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the agreement between pathological and radiological staging in oropharyngeal cancer by comparing the 7th and the 8th edition of the AJCC TNM system.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 57 cases of oropharyngeal cancer with lymph node metastases staged with the 7th and 8th editions of the AJCC TNM system. Comparison between clinical and radiological features and differences in agreement rates were calculated between radiological and pathological staging for the primary tumor (T) and lymph nodes (N) in HPVpos and HPVneg cases.

Results: Comparison of HPVpos and HPVneg revealed a significantly different distribution between early and advanced stages in the 8 th edition, with a relevant number of HPVpos patients redefined from advanced stages whit the 7 th ed. to early stages with 8 th ed. (p < 0.01); no significant differences were found when comparing all diagnostic methods for T and N.

Conclusions: The 8th edition of the AJCC TNM seems to lead to better pretreatment staging. For both HPVpos and HPVneg, the agreement between pretreatment radiological and pathological staging.

Keywords: Head and neck cancer; Human papillomavirus; Oropharyngeal cancer; Radiological staging; TNM staging.

MeSH terms

Humans
Lymph Nodes / diagnostic imaging
Lymph Nodes / pathology
Neoplasm Staging
Oropharyngeal Neoplasms* / diagnostic imaging
Oropharyngeal Neoplasms* / pathology
Papillomavirus Infections* / diagnostic imaging
Papillomavirus Infections* / pathology
Prognosis
Retrospective Studies