Paolo Bossi, Head of the Head and Neck Medical Oncology Unit and Associate Professor of Medical Oncology at Humanitas University and Humanitas Cancer Center, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“HPV-Positive Oropharyngeal Cancer: p16 Status Alone Is Not Enough.
New multicenter data from Southern Europe, including 674 patients across 14 centers, show that smoking history fundamentally reshapes recurrence patterns and survival, even among p16-positive patients.
Gili et al., Head and Neck (2026).
Pattern of recurrence by p16 status (among patients who experienced recurrence):
- p16-positive: More distant recurrence (51% distant recurrence with or without locoregional recurrence).
- p16-negative: More locoregional recurrence (72% locoregional recurrence with or without distant recurrence).
Smoking history further stratified outcomes within the p16-positive group.
Survival after recurrence (recurrence overall survival):
- p16-positive never smokers: Median 47 months.
- p16-positive heavy smokers: Median 12 months.
- p16-negative patients: Overall survival after recurrence remained worse than in the p16-positive population.
Clinical implications:
- Heavy-smoking patients with p16-positive disease represent a distinct high-risk subgroup.
- Treatment de-escalation strategies should incorporate smoking history in addition to p16 status.
- Closer surveillance for distant recurrence may be warranted in heavy smokers.”
Other articles about Head and Neck Cancer on OncoDaily.