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Joel A. Ernster, MD; Cosimo G. Sciotto, MD, PhD; Maureen M. O’Brien, PhD; Linda J. Robinson, BA; Thomas Willson, BS

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2009;135(6):554-557.

Objective  To determine whether there has been a demonstrable increase in the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV)–infected palatine tonsils corresponding to the increase in incidence of HPV-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) over time.

Design  Review of archived, paraffin-embedded, noncancerous palatine tonsils.

Setting  A single institution in El Paso County, Colorado.

Patients  Age- and sex-matched patients 21 years and older from 2 different periods: January 1, 1979, to December 31, 1982, (group A) and January 1, 1997, to December 31, 2001 (group B).

Main Outcome Measures  Prevalence of oncogenic HPV-16 and HPV-18 in noncancerous palatine tonsils in relation to the incidence of HPV-positive oropharyngeal SCC.

Results  All specimens in both groups were negative for HPV-16 and HPV-18. Thus, the prevalence of HPV infection in the palatine tonsils of the general adult population was zero in both group A and group B.

Conclusions  This analysis shows a low prevalence of HPV infection in the palatine tonsils of the general adult population in a single county in Colorado known to have an increasing rate of HPV-positive oropharyngeal SCC. Analysis of oropharyngeal tissues from individuals at highest risk of developing HPV-positive oropharyngeal SCC (middle-aged men) is likely to provide a higher prevalence rate.

Author Affiliations: Colorado Otolaryngology Associates, Colorado Springs (Dr Ernster); Division of Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Otolaryngology (Dr Ernster) and Department of Clinical Sciences (Dr O’Brien), University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver; and Department of Pathology, Penrose–St Francis Health Services, Colorado Springs (Dr Sciotto, Ms Robinson, and Mr Willson).

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