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Dental Tribune South African Edition

5Press ReleasesDental Tribune South African Edition - August 2014 Dental Tribune International BALTIMORE, USA: In order to improve screening for oral cancers associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV), researchers have investigated the potential role of saliva and blood plasma in the detection of DNA from HPV 16, a major causative factor of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Initial tests showed that the method helped accurately predict recurrence of HPV-related oral cancers in a considerable number of patients. The study included 93 patients with oropharyngeal and unknown primary squamous cell carcinoma with known HPV 16 tumor status who were treated with surgery, radiation, or combined chemotherapy and radiation at the Johns Hopkins medical institutions and Greater Baltimore Medical Center. An examination of their plasma or saliva samples showed that 81 patients had HPV 16-positive tumors. During a median follow-up period of 49 months, the scientists found that HPV DNA detected in patients' saliva after treatment was predictive for recurrence nearly 20 percent of the time in a subset of patients. When they looked for HPV DNA in the blood of another subset, the accuracy of a recurrence prediction rose to more than 55 percent. In a third subset of patients, finding HPV DNA in both blood and saliva samples after treatment accurately predicted recurrence 70 percent of the time. Patients with HPV-related oropharyngeal cancers are generally examined every one to three months in the first year after initial therapy. However, to date there is no reliable biological way to identify which patients are at higher risk of recurrence, said Dr. Joseph Califano, professor at the Head and Neck Cancer Center of the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center. On the one hand, imaging tests are unreliable in detecting cancer recurrence early; on the other hand, detection of primary squamous cell carcinoma is often delayed owing to the challenging anatomy of the oropharynx. Califano added that, despite the encouraging results of the current study, further refinements are still badly needed to improve detection of possible recurrence. The research team is currently looking for New saliva test predicts recurrence of HPV- linked oral cancers other genomic markers that would increase the specificity of HPV DNA testing of saliva and blood. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 7 percent of people in the U.S. have oral HPV. Each year, about 8,400 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with cancers of the oropharynx that may be caused by HPV. This type of cancer is about three times more common in men than in women. The study, titled "Saliva and Plasma Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction–Based Detection and Surveillance of Human Papillomavirus–Related Head and Neck Cancer," was published online on July 31 in the JAMA Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery journal ahead of print. DT DT_Issue2-2_Aug2014-rev_Layout 1 2014/08/11 4:41 PM Page 5

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