Research progress on HPV-positive oropharyngeal carcinoma sensitive to radiation therapy

Oropharyngeal carcinoma is a highly heterogeneous disease that is mainly caused by tobacco and alcohol abuse or high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. HPV-positive oropharyngeal carcinoma and HPV-negative oropharyngeal carcinoma have obvious differences in etiology, epidemiology and prognosis; therefore, different methods should be adopted for treatment. It is known that the TP53 gene is not mutated in HPV-positive oropharyngeal carcinoma, and radiation therapy can activate it and induce cell apoptosis via DNA damage. There are common repair pathways to DNA damage, such as nonhomologous end joining, and this pathway is more sensitive to radiotherapy under the inhibition of HPV oncoprotein. In addition, the further activation of the immune response under the effect of radiation also participates in the elimination of tumors. In this paper, we reviewed the research on the sensitivity of HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer to radiotherapy to provide a scientific basis for targeted treatment for various pathogenic factors and clinical stages of oropharyngeal cancer in the future.