Human Papillomavirus in Sinonasal Tract Tumors-Another Head and Neck "Hot Spot" for Prognostically Favorable Viral Disease.

The sinonasal tract, while an uncommon site of SCC overall, is another "hot spot" for transcriptionally-active high-risk HPV-associated tumors. The accumulating data show that, across the world, the rate of HPV-associated SCC here is approximately 15% and, in the United States, closer to 30%. Patients have lower disease recurrence and better survival than HPV-independent SCC patients. Low-risk HPV also causes a smaller subset of sinonasal SCC, mostly through exophytic and inverted papillomas that transform into SCC. It is not known if these patients have better survival than patients with low-risk HPV-negative SCC. This article reviews the latest data on HPV in sinonasal tumors.