HPV16 DNA from fine-needle aspirations OK for diagnosis

(HealthDay)—HPV16 DNA detected in fine-needle aspirations from neck masses is a reliable indicator for diagnosis of an HPV-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), according to a study published Nov. 29 in Head & Neck.

Lars Sivars, M.D., from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, and colleagues prospectively examined fine-needle aspiration cytologies (FNACs) from 66 patients with neck masses for HPV DNA and HPV16 mRNA using a polymerase chain reaction-based assay. The results were correlated to diagnosis and HPV status obtained from histopathological specimens.

The researchers found that aspirates from 17 of the 66 patients, later diagnosed with HPV-positive oropharyngeal SCC, were HPV16 DNA-positive, while all remaining FNACs, including 18 branchial cleft cysts, were HPV DNA-negative. HPV DNA status in the aspirates had perfect concordance with corresponding biopsies. HPV16 mRNA was detected in all cases with extractable RNA.

"HPV16 DNA detection in fine-needle aspirations from neck masses is reliable and HPV16 DNA in a metastasis is a strong indicator of an HPV-positive oropharyngeal SCC," the authors write.