Conclusions: This study confirms a high prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive tonsillar tumours (52%). The survival of the HPV-positive group was significantly better in males. Objectives: We assessed the prevalence of HPV in 137 patients with tonsillar carcinomas, measured the p53- and Ki-67-positive tumour cell fractions and correlated the results with clinical variables. Patients and methods: Tumour DNA from patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tonsillar region was amplified by PCR and sequenced for detection of HPV subtypes. Results: HPV was found in 71/137 (52%) of the tumours; HPV-16 was the most frequent subtype (87%). HPV positivity did not correlate with gender, stage, T- and N categories, Ki-67 expression or p53 positivity. The HPV-positive group had a significantly better survival (p