Prevalence of Human Papillomavirus Type-16 in Head and Neck Cancer Among the Chinese Population: A Meta-Analysis

Background: The burden of head and neck cancer in China is heavier, and studies have shown that it may be associated with HPV infection, especially high-risk HPV. Objectives: We aimed to conduct a meta-analysis to estimate the high-risk HPV-16 prevalence of head and neck cancer in the Chinese population. Methods: The reports on HPV and head and neck cancer in a Chinese population published between Jan 1, 2006 and Oct 23, 2018 were retrieved via WANFANG/CNKI/MEDLINE/EMBASE databases. The pooled prevalence and corresponding 95% confidence intervals was calculated by a random-effect model. Results: The meta-analysis included a total of 2,896 head and neck cancer cases from 28 studies. Overall, the pooled HPV-16 prevalence among head and neck cancer cases was 24.7% (20.2–29.3%) in China, 31.6% (21.7–41.5%) in oropharyngeal cancer, 28.5% (18.2–38.7%) in laryngeal cancer and 14.9% (10.1–19.7%) in oral cancer, 25.3% (14.8–35.8%) in fresh or frozen biopsies and 25.0% (19.5–30.5%) in paraffin-embedded fixed biopsies, 36.5% (17.9–55.1%) by E6/E7 region and 14.3% (6.4–22.1%) by L1 region of HPV gene. The highest HPV-16 prevalence was found in Central China. Conclusions: High prevalence of HPV-16 was found in the samples of Chinese head and neck cancers. Preventive HPV-vaccination may reduce the burden of HPV-related head and neck cancer in China.