RNA Oncoimmune Phenotyping of HPV-Positive p16-Positive Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinomas by Nodal Status

Abstract

Many HPV-16 and p16-positive tumors are treated as "lower-risk," but they do not have similar genetic compositions at the biological level. The identification of subgroups with unique expression patterns, such as those with nodal metastases, may guide physicians toward alternative or more aggressive therapies. In our study, unguided clustering suggested that that the larger biological characteristics of a tumor could be a better prognostic biomarker.