Rate of locoregional recurrence among patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma with known HPV status: a systematic review.

We aimed to review systematically the literature on locoregional recurrence rates in patients with HPV-positive and -negative oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). PubMed and Embase databases were systematically searched using key words such as human papillomavirus, oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma with local, regional, and locoregional recurrence. Nine studies (2974 patients with known HPV-status, 59% HPV-positive) were included. Among the HPV-positive and -negative patients, 69% and 58% had lymph node metastasis at diagnosis. At a median time to recurrence ranging from 8.4 to 13.2 months among the included studies, we found that a weighted average of 9% and 26% for HPV-positive and -negative patients experienced locoregional recurrence. Overall, the median follow-up time ranged from 21 to 83 months among the included studies. Recurrence rates for HPV-positive and -negative OPSCC patients were 9% and 26%, respectively, equating to an almost three times higher rate of locoregional recurrence among HPV-negative patients compared to HPV-positive patients.