Abstract
The incidence of carcinoma of the oropharynx mediated by the human papilloma virus (p16+) has extremely raised. The clinical and imaging appearance of p16+ and p16- tumors is different, p16+ tumors exhibit more pronounced heterogeneity, they shows different dynamics in the disease development and they are classified by the different way by the 8th revision of TNM classification.
In tumors p16+, the clinical onset is frequently as nodal enlargement in cervical region, but nor the heterogeneity nor the extranodal extension is associated with the worse prognosis. Primary of p16+, but also nodal metastases exhibit important changes in glycolytic activity associated with the changes of blood perfusion very frequently.
The marked differences of the imaging presentation enable to distinguish the p16+ and p16- oropharyngeal carcinoma, sometimes before biopsy.