Human Papillomavirus Is Rare and Does Not Correlate with p16INK4A Expression in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer in a Jordanian Subpopulation.

Background and Objectives: Human papillomavirus (HPV) was previously investigated in lung cancer with wide inter-geographic discrepancies. p16INK4a has been used as a surrogate for detecting high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) in some cancer types. This study assessed the evidence of HPV in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) among Jordanian patients, investigated the expression of p16INK4a, and evaluated its prognostic value and association with HPV status. Materials and Methods: The archived samples of 100 patients were used. HPV DNA detection was performed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). p16INK4a expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The Eighth American Joint Committee on Cancer protocol (AJCC) of head and neck cancer criteria were applied to evaluate p16INK4a positivity considering a moderate/strong nuclear/cytoplasmic expression intensity with a distribution in ≥75% of cells as positive. Results: HPV DNA was detected in 5% of NSCLC cases. Three positive cases showed HR-HPV subtypes (16, 18, 52), and two cases showed the probable HR-HPV 26 subtype. p16INK4a expression was positive in 20 (20%) NSCLC cases. None of the HPV-positive tumors were positive for p16INK4a expression. A statistically significant association was identified between p16INK4a expression and the pathological stage (p = 0.029) but not with other variables. No survival impact of p16INK4a expression was detected in NSCLC cases as a group; however, it showed a statistically significant association with overall survival (OS) in squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC) cases (p = 0.033). Conclusions: This is the first study to assess HPV and p16INK4a expression in a Jordanian population. HPV positivity is rare in NSCLC among a Jordanian subpopulation. P16 INK4a reliability as a surrogate marker for HPV infection in lung cancer must be revisited.

Optimum timing of lung resection surgery following SARS-CoV-2 infection for non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection on postoperative recovery of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is need to be understood, thereby informing the optimal timing of surgical decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic for NSCLC patients. This study reports the postoperative outcomes of surgical NSCLC patients with preoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. METHOD: This single-center retrospective cohort study included 241 NSCLC patients who underwent lobectomy or sub-lobectomy between December 1, 2022 and February 14, 2023. Surgical outcomes of patients with preoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection (stratified by the time from diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection to surgery) were compared with those without preoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. The primary outcomes were total postoperative complications and postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs), the secondary outcomes included operation time, total postoperative drainage and time, length of hospital stay (LOS), 30-day and 90-day postoperative symptoms. RESULTS: This study included 153 (63.5%) patients with preoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and 88 (36.5%) patients without previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. In patients with a preoperative SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis, the incidence of total postoperative complications (OR, 3.00; 95% CI, 1.12-8.01; p = 0.028) and PPCs (OR, 4.20; 95% CI, 1.11-15.91; p = 0.035) both increased in patients infected having surgery within 2 weeks compared with non-infection before surgery. However, patients who underwent lung resection more than 2 weeks after SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis had a similar risk of postoperative complications and surgical outcomes with those non-infection before surgery. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to provide evidence regarding the optimum timing of lung resection surgery and assessing early outcomes after surgery in NSCLC patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our study documents that the SARS-CoV-2 infection did not complicate surgical procedures for lung cancer, and suggest that lung surgery should be postponed at least 2 weeks after SARS-CoV-2 infection for NSCLC patients.