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saliva test used for hpv detects throat cancer
the test could be a ground breaking method for doctors to easily detect early signs of throat cancer.
may 14 2020
2 minute read
hpv test shows promise in detecting throat cancer. stock/getty
in what’s believed to be a world first, a new case report from the journal frontiers in oncology reveals how a novel saliva test for hpv infection was used to detect throat cancer in a patient.
“the incidence of high-risk human papillomavirus (hpv)-driven throat cancers is on the rise in developed countries and, unfortunately, it is often discovered only when it is more advanced, with patients needing complicated and highly impactful treatment,” chaminidie punyadeera, an associate professor at the queensland university of technology’s faculty of health who was one of the researchers who developed the test said in a press release.
“in the u.s., hpv-driven throat cancers have surpassed cervical cancers as the most common cancer caused by hpv, but unlike cervical cancer, up until now, there has been no screening test for this type of oropharyngeal cancer,” said punyadeera.
the cancer case was detected as part of a larger study looking at hpv dna. the study is following over 600 cancer-free patients, looking at using the experimental test to measure viral dna in saliva samples according to new atlas . researchers are particularly interested in hpv-16, a viral strain that has been linked to cervical cancer.
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the positive test was linked to a 63 year old patient who showed no clinical symptoms or signs of cancer. according to the case report, over 36 months they underwent a series of hpv-16 dna tests as part of the study, with researchers detecting significant rises in viral levels each time they tested. after sending the patient to an ear, nose and throat surgeon for examination, it revealed the presence of an asymptomatic tumour in the throat.
“the patient was found to have a two millimetre squamous cell carcinoma in the left tonsil, treated by tonsillectomy,” said punyadeera. “this has given our patient a high chance of cure with very straightforward treatment. since the surgery, the patient has had no evidence of hpv-16 dna in his saliva.”
new atlas says that prior research indicates that high hpv-16 viral loads detected in the saliva can be linked with advanced oropharyngeal cancer. most research links the detection to advanced cancers, however this is the first time that researchers have successfully found an early stage cancer with this new saliva test.
what makes the findings so important is the increasing numbers of hpv viral loads in saliva over several tests and throat cancer. the progressive increase in viral loads over time suggests how the new test could be key to detecting cancers early that previously were only detected at more advanced stages.
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while the findings seem promising, more testing and validation is needed before it’s taken to clinical deployment. but since there is no screening test yet available for throat cancer, this could be a ground-breaking method for doctors to easily detect signs early.
“the presence of this pattern of elevated salivary hpv-dna must be fully evaluated, as it may provide the critical marker for early cancer detection,” said punyadeera. “we now have the promise of a screening test for oropharynx cancer and there is an urgent need to undertake a major study to validate this test and the appropriate assessment pathway for people with persisting salivary hpv-dna.”
jordan heuvelmans is a freelance journalist with healthing.ca. you can follow her on twitter at @jordanheuvelm
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