Title
Prevalence of HPV positive oropharyngeal cancers across geographic regions
Authors
Ahmad Danish Rehan1,*, Mohd Khateeb Khan2, Madina Sudhir Kumar3, Kaushal Jadav4, Aviral Pandey5 & Krishna Prasad Biswas6
Affiliation
1Department of Dentistry, Zoram Medical College and Hospital, Falkawn, Mizoram, India; 2Department of Public Health Dentistry, Regional Dental College, Guwahati, Assam, India; 3Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Asram Medical College, Eluru andhra Pradesh, India; 4Department of Pathology, Gujarat Adani Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhuj, Gujarat, India; 5Department of Public Health Dentistry, Carrier Institute of Dental Sciences & Hospital, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India; 6Department of Pediatric Surgery, AIIMS Guwahati, Assam, India; *Corresponding author
Ahmad Danish Rehan - E-mail: danishrehan5293@gmail.com
Mohd Khateeb Khan - E-mail: khateeb0990@gmail.com
Madina Sudhir Kumar - E-mail: sudhir.madina@gmail.com
Kaushal Jadav - E-mail: kaushalrjadav@gmail.com
Aviral Pandey - E-mail: draviral1990@gmail.com
Krishna Prasad Biswas - E-mail: krishnabiswas@aiimsguwahati.ac.in
Article Type
Review
Date
Received July 1, 2026; Revised July 31, 2026; Accepted July 31, 2026, Published July 31, 2026
Abstract
Human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) has emerged as a rapidly increasing global health concern with marked geographic variation in prevalence and clinical characteristics. Therefore, it is of interest to summarize the regional distribution, viral subtypes, detection methods and epidemiological trends of HPV-positive OPSCC across Africa, the Americas, Europe, the Western Pacific and Asia using evidence from published literature. Data show that HPV-attributable OPSCC is highly prevalent in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, whereas comparatively lower rates are observed in Africa, South Asia and the Middle East, with HPV16 remaining the predominant genotype worldwide. HPV-positive OPSCC occurs more commonly in younger individuals, non-smokers and patients with high-risk sexual behavior and is consistently associated with improved survival outcomes compared with HPV-negative disease. Thus, data shows that the importance of standardized HPV detection methods, strengthened epidemiological surveillance and expanded HPV vaccination strategies to address the growing global burden of HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer.
Keywords
Global epidemiology, HPV-positive tumors, human papillomavirus (HPV), oropharyngeal cancer, HPV16
Citation
Rehan et al. Bioinformation 22(7): 4386-4392 (2026)
Edited by
Rashmi Laddha
ISSN
0973-2063
Publisher
License
This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
