A Meta-Analysis of the Association Between Human Papillomavirus and Oesophageal Squamous Cell Cancer

Aim : to systematise the data of available studies related to the association of papillomavirus infection with oesophageal squamous cell cancer. Methods . A literature search was conducted in PubMed and Google Scholar databases. All full-text articles from 1995 to 2023 were included. The language of the studies was not a barrier to inclusion in this meta-analysis. A total of 130 literature sources were analysed. The meta-analysis was based on data from 17 case-control studies, which together account for 1912 oesophageal squamous cell tumour tissue samples and 2206 control samples of normal oesophageal tissue. Key points . There is a growing body of research on the importance of human papillomavirus as a risk factor for oesophageal squamous cell cancer. However, the association of human papillomavirus with the risk of oesophageal cancer, despite the large number of studies on this topic, is still controversial. Conclusions . The resulting relative risk (RR) of oesophageal squamous cell cancer in papillomavirus infection was 1.22 (95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.11–1.35; p = 0.000023). Meanwhile, stratification of the data according to the ethnicity of the patients showed that the highest risk of oesophageal squamous cell cancer in papillomavirus infection was observed in patients of Asian ethnic group (RR = 1.34; 95% C: 1.26–1.42; p = 0.042). In the Arab ethnic group, the risk of oesophageal squamous cell cancer with papillomavirus infection was 1.27 (95% CI: 1.09–1.48; p = 0.005), while in Europeans it does not reach statistically significant values (p = 0.232).