Evaluating of HPV–DNA ISH as an adjunct to p16 testing in oropharyngeal cancer

AIM: Current guidelines recommend p16 immunohistochemistry (IHC) for testing human papillomavirus (HPV) in oropharyngeal carcinoma (OPSCC). We evaluated the value of adding DNA in situ hybridization (ISH) to p16 IHC. METHODS: Fifty patients with OPSCC were analyzed. Concordance between HPV–DNA ISH and p16 IHC was measured by Gwet's agreement coefficient. RESULTS: p16 IHC was positive in 35/48 (72.9%), negative in 8/48 (16.7%) patients. Wide spectrum DNA–ISH was positive in 9/23 (39%) and negative in 14/23 (60.9%) patients. High-risk 16/18 (HR) HPV DNA–ISH was positive in 11/23 (47.8%) and negative in 12 (52.2%) patients. The agreement between HPV DNA–ISH and p16 IHC is fair (Gwet's AC1 = 0.318). CONCLUSION: The agreement between p16 IHC and HPV–DNA ISH was fair. However, ISH sensitivity was low. Our findings add to the current data that p16 IHC testing is reliable and may be enough as a stand-alone test for HPV detection in OPSCC.