African Americans With p16+ and p16- Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinomas Have Distinctly Poor Treatment Outcomes Independent of Medical Care Access.

Purpose: Human papilloma virus-positive (HPV+) oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC), diagnosed with p16 immunohistochemistry, is associated with favorable prognosis; however, this connection was established using European American (EA)-skewed populations. The impact of p16/human papillomavirus status on outcomes in African American (AA) OPSCC patients remains to be settled. In this study, we determine the association between cancer disparity and p16 status in an OPSCC cohort controlling for time to treatment initiation (TTI), a surrogate for medical care access.