Abstract
The role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the etiology, staging, and prognosis of oropharyngeal cancer is well established. However, its prognostic impact in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) remains less clear. This study aimed to explore the clinicopathological and prognostic implications of HPV positivity in OCSCC. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 140 patients diagnosed with OCSCC at a single center between January 2019 and December 2022. Tumor tissues were collected from biopsy and resected specimens of histologically confirmed OCSCC cases. HPV-PCR was performed using primers for HPV16 and HPV18. Informed consent was obtained from all participants. The study found that 25.7% of OCSCC cases were HPV-positive, exclusively for HPV16. HPV positivity was higher in females compared to males (34.8% vs. 23.9%) and among tobacco users (28.4% vs. 12.5%), though these differences were not statistically significant. HPV-positive tumors were more frequent in earlier stages (pathological stages I and II, 37.5% and 26.3%, respectively) compared to advanced stages. Lymphovascular invasion was more common in the HPV-positive group (36% vs. 16%, p = 0.06). However, HPV-positive tumors demonstrated significantly lower depth of invasion (< 5 mm: 62.5% vs. ≤ 5 mm 37.5%, p = 0.024). While mean survival was higher in HPV-positive cases, this difference was not statistically significant. These findings suggest distinct clinical characteristics of HPV-positive OCSCC, emphasizing the need for further research.