HPV – Page 4 – Oral Cancer News

Treatment paradigms are shifting for locally advanced HPV-positive head and neck cancers

Source: www.onclive.com Authors: Kaveh Zakeri, MD, MAS, Nancy Y. Lee, MD The standard of care for patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinomas does not substantially differ according to human papillomavirus (HPV) status in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines.1 Resectable tumors can be treated with surgery followed by adjuvant therapy. Alternatively, definitive chemoradiation therapy with cisplatin is the other dominant treatment paradigm. Incidence of HPV-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma has increased rapidly and is associated with higher overall survival (OS) compared with cancers caused by smoking and alcohol.2,3 Given the unique biology of HPV-associated oropharyngeal disease, a separate staging system was developed for these tumors.4 HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancers are more radiosensitive and chemosensitive than cancers caused by smoking and alcohol, yet the traditional treatment paradigms—including high doses of radiation and chemotherapy—were developed prior to the epidemic of HPV-associated disease. De-escalation of therapy has been proposed for HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer based on data demonstrating high OS and progression-free survival (PFS).5 De-escalation of therapy has been investigated for both definitive surgical and chemoradiation therapy paradigms. Most de-escalated approaches focus on selecting patients according to clinical features, such as disease stage and smoking status, whereas personalized de-escalation reduces treatment intensity for patients according to treatment response. Transoral Robotic Surgery Followed by Adjuvant Radiotherapy Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) is a minimally invasive approach that reduces morbidity compared with traditional, open surgery for patients with oropharyngeal cancers. TORS is a standard of care option for patients with resectable tonsil or base [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2021-11-23T08:16:08-07:00November, 2021|Oral Cancer News|

Most men benefit from initial and catch-up cancer prevention vaccination

Source: www.precisionvaccinations.com Author: Don Ward Hackett The Lancet Infectious Disease published the results from an extensive cancer prevention phase 3 study on November 12, 2021, supporting quadrivalent HPV vaccination in men, including catch-up vaccinations. The Gardasil quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine was shown to prevent infections and lesions related to HPV6, 11, 16, and 18 in men aged 16–26 years. The researchers assessed the incidences of external genital warts related to HPV6 or 11 and external genital lesions and anal dysplasia associated with HPV6, 11, 16, or 18, over ten years of follow-up. The 3-year Base Study was an international, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial done at 71 sites in 18 countries. The Vaccination Period for the Base Study encompassed Day 1 through Month 7, during which time participants received qHPV vaccination at Day 1, Month 2, and Month 6. Follow-up for the Base Study encompassed Month 7 through Month 36. And the 7-year, open-label, long-term follow-up extension study was done at 46 centers in 16 countries. Between August 2010 and April 2017, 1,803 participants were enrolled in the long-term follow-up study, of whom 936 (827 heterosexual men and 109 MSM) were included in the early vaccination group and 867 (739 heterosexual men and 128 MSM) were included in the catch-up vaccination group. In early vaccine group participants during long-term follow-up compared with the placebo group in the Base Study, the incidence per 10 000 person-years of external genital warts related to HPV6 or 11 was 0·0 (95% CI 0·0–8·7) versus 137·3 [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2021-11-16T08:57:09-07:00November, 2021|Oral Cancer News|

New treatment for HPV-associated oropharynx cancer leads to excellent disease control, less side effects

Source: www.news-medical.net Author: Emily Henderson, B.Sc., Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic researchers have found that a new, shorter treatment for patients with HPV-associated oropharynx cancer leads to excellent disease control and fewer side effects, compared to standard treatment. The new treatment employs minimally invasive surgery and half the standard dose of radiation therapy, compared to current treatments. The new treatment also lasts for two weeks, rather than the standard six weeks. Results of a study of the new treatment were presented Tuesday, Oct. 20, at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's Annual Meeting. Dr. Ma says that while the standard treatment for this type of cancer leads to high cure rates, it may also result in many short-term and long-term treatment toxicities, including dry mouth, problems swallowing, neck stiffness and jawbone problems. "Many of these side effects are directly linked to the amount of radiation used for treatment," says Dr. Ma. Dr. Ma and his colleagues developed an initial clinical trial looking at a new treatment using minimally invasive surgery and half the standard dose of radiation. The initial clinical trial demonstrated that well-selected patients could have excellent disease control with much lower toxicity using the new treatment. "Our findings suggest that in select patients with HPV-associated oropharynx a shorter course treatment, compared to the standard of care, yields a similar result," says Dr. Ma. Based on these phase 3 results, Mayo Clinic has adopted this shorter course treatment as its standard of care for well-selected patients. Dr. Ma and his [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2021-10-27T20:21:27-07:00October, 2021|Oral Cancer News|

Saliva testing may allow early detection of human papillomavirus–driven head and neck cancers

Source: medicalxpress.com Author: Elsevier Cancer causing high-risk human papillomaviruses (HR-HPV) are responsible for the rising incidence of HR-HPV–driven head and neck cancers (HNC), particularly oropharyngeal cancers (OPC, or throat cancers). Investigators have determined that HR-HPV DNA can be detected in saliva in most patients with HPV-driven OPC at the time of diagnosis. This work highlights a potentially life-saving screening program based on salivary HR-HPV DNA testing for early cancer detection and patient monitoring. Their findings appear in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics. "Despite the upsurge in HPV-driven HNC, there are no early detection methods or screening strategies for this cancer type, unlike cervical cancer, which is caused by the same virus. Biomarkers enabling early detection, monitoring and disease prognostication are warranted to combat the rising incidence of HPV-driven OPC," observed lead investigator Chamindie Punyadeera, Ph.D., head, Saliva & Liquid Biopsy Translational Laboratory, School of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), and Translational Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. Dr. Punyadeera and her colleagues investigated the efficacy of salivary HPV detection as a biomarker of HPV-HNC and survival patterns in patients with OPC to evaluate the utility of salivary HR-HPV as a prognostic biomarker for OPC. Saliva testing was performed on 491 patients at the time of first diagnosis of HNC and 10 patients with recurring HNC. Forty-three percent were positive for salivary HR-HPV DNA. HPV16, a high-risk strain of the virus, was detected in 92% of the HPV-positive saliva samples. The vast majority of HPV-HNC had arisen [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2021-09-22T09:38:25-07:00September, 2021|Oral Cancer News|

Bifunctional protein shows promise in HPV-related cancers

Source: www.medpagetoday.com Author: Charles Bankhead, Senior Editor, MedPage Today September A bifunctional fusion protein with immunotherapeutic activity proved active in advanced, difficult-to-treat cancers associated with human papillomavirus (HPV), according to pooled data from two prospective studies. Overall, 21 of 75 patients had confirmed responses with bintrafusp alfa, which inhibits tumor growth factor-beta (TGF-β) and PD-L1 interaction with its receptor. Responses were durable in many cases and occurred in patients with a variety of HPV-associated cancers. With a median follow-up of 33 months, the two cohorts had a median overall survival (OS) of 21.3 months, reported James Gulley, MD, PhD, of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, during the virtual European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) meeting. "Overall survival appears to have a plateau of around 40-45% out to beyond 3 years," said Gulley. "The median survival compares favorably to the reported overall survival with PD-1 inhibitors of 8 to 12 months." "The need for effective treatment options in patients with HPV-associated malignancies is high," he added. "Therefore, these results showing efficacy of bintrafusp alfa across different HPV-related tumor types are of interest. Clinical trials of bintrafusp alfa in HPV-associated malignancies are ongoing." The frequency and durability of responses are "really remarkable in a quite difficult-to-treat patient population," said ESMO invited discussant Sebastian Kobold, MD, of Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. "It's especially stunning because we all know that cervical cancers in previous trials have shown rather disappointing results with PD-1-targeting single agents, indicating that's [the anti-PD-1 component of the [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2021-09-21T07:23:47-07:00September, 2021|Oral Cancer News|

Study: HPV vaccination will reduce throat and mouth cancers, but overall impact will take 25-plus years to see

Source: www.newswise.com Author: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Vaccinations against human papillomavirus (HPV), a major cause of throat and back of mouth cancers, are expected to yield significant reductions in the rates of these cancers in the U.S., but will not do so until after 2045, according to a new modeling study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infectious virus worldwide. HPV infections are often silent, and while most infections clear, some are chronic and can trigger cancers including mouth and throat (oropharyngeal), and cervical cancer because they disrupt DNA and inhibit tumor-suppressor proteins in the cells they infect. Although there is no cure for existing HPV infections, new infections are preventable with vaccines, the first of which entered use in the U.S. in 2006. In the new study, the Bloomberg School researchers analyzed national databases on oropharyngeal cancer cases and HPV vaccinations, and projected the impact of HPV vaccination on the rates of these cancers in different age groups. They estimated that the oropharyngeal cancer rate would nearly halve between 2018 and 2045 among people ages 36–45. However, they also projected that the rate in the overall population would stay about the same from 2018-2045, due to still-rising rates of these cancers in older people, where most of these cancers occur. The study appears online September 2 in JAMA Oncology. “We estimate that most of the oropharyngeal cancers from 2018 to 2045 will occur among [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2021-09-03T12:26:37-07:00September, 2021|Oral Cancer News|

Immunotherapy for HPV+ head and neck cancer: Awakening the force within

Source: medicalxpress.com Author: Emory University A new study from scientists at Emory Vaccine Center and Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University reports that the immune cells that are the major targets of immune checkpoint inhibitors are present in tumors from head and neck cancer patients. The study focuses on head and neck tumors that are positive for human papillomavirus (HPV), which is becoming one of most common types of head and neck cancers treated in the Western world. The results are scheduled for publication in Nature. It suggests checkpoint inhibitors, which have transformed the treatment of several types of cancer, could be uniquely effective against this type of head and neck cancer. The results also indicate that the experimental approach of therapeutic vaccination for HPV+ cancer could be broadened to include more elements of the virus, to potentially trigger a broader and stronger immune response. Researchers from Rafi Ahmed's lab at Emory Vaccine Center collaborated with the co-directors of the Winship Head and Neck Cancers working group, oncologists Nabil Saba, MD and Mihir Patel, MD, to obtain samples from patients with head and neck tumors early in the course of treatment. "About five years ago, we began to have an influx of patients that sought out our center for surgical treatment," Patel says. "We often heard some variation of a similar story: I was sick with cold-like symptoms and once that resolved this I noticed swelling in a lymph node on the side of my neck. Stories like this made [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2021-09-02T20:07:01-07:00September, 2021|Oral Cancer News|

Calls grow for treatment deintensification of HPV-positive OPC

Source: ww.pharmacytimes.com Author: Bryan Fitzgerald, PharmD, BCOP Health-System Edition, July 2021, Volume 10, Issue 4 Oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) is a type of head and neck cancer that affects structures in the back of the throat, including the base of the tongue, the posterior pharynx, the soft palate, and the tonsils.1 In the United States, rates of OPC are increasing each year, with an estimated 54,010 new cases in 2021.2 Well-established risk factors include alcohol abuse; exposure to tobacco, including chewing tobacco, cigarettes, and pipes; and infection with human papillomavirus (HPV). With an estimated 43 million infections in 2018, HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States.3 HPV infection is causally linked with cancers of the anogenital region, including anal, cervical, penile, vaginal, and vulvar cancers. When HPV is spread orally, infections can also lead to the development of OPC. In the United States, more than 70% of OPC cases are caused by HPV.4 HPV is a group of more than 100 viruses, including certain high-risk strains associated with the development of cancer. The HPV-16 strain is responsible for causing the majority of HPV-positive (HPV+) OPC cases, with HPV-18, HPV-33, and HPV-35 also contributing, albeit significantly less than HPV-16.1 In these high-risk HPV strains, the viral genome encodes several oncogenic proteins that inhibit tumor suppressor proteins, leading to chromosomal instability and malignancy in infected cells. HPV+ OPC is considered a genetically distinct form of OPC. Compared with HPV-negative (HPC–) OPC cases, HPV+ OPC is associated with a [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2021-07-21T10:05:34-07:00July, 2021|Oral Cancer News|

Five reasons boys and young men need the HPV vaccine, too

Source: www.mskcc.org Author: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, News and Information Rich Delgrosso found the lump while shaving. It was on the left side of his neck and it seemed to grow bigger by the day. He made an appointment with his ear, nose, and throat doctor. “He said the odds were 50/50 that it was an infection,” recalls the 56-year-old father of two from Pleasantville, New York. “I asked, ‘What’s the other 50?’” It was a possibility no one wanted to hear: Cancer. Rich underwent a biopsy and learned he had squamous cell carcinoma that had originated on the base of his tongue. His cancer, the doctor told him, was caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). Rich was shocked. “I knew HPV could cause cancer,” he says, “but I thought it was only cervical cancer in women.” It’s true that HPV, a sexually transmitted virus, does cause the majority of cervical cancer cases in women. But it can also cause a variety of cancers in men, too, some of which are on the rise. HPV led to a five-fold increase of head and neck cancers in young men from 2001 to 2017, according to data released at the 2021 American Society for Clinical Oncology annual meeting. Memorial Sloan Kettering’s David Pfister, a medical oncologist who cares for people with head and neck cancer, says these cancer cases are just now emerging in people infected with the virus many years ago. “Once the association between HPV infection and throat cancers [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2021-06-11T08:24:16-07:00June, 2021|Oral Cancer News|

Naveris’ new saliva test detects head and neck cancer

Source: www.biospace.com/ Author: staff A new clinically-validated saliva test has been shown to detect HPV-associated head and neck cancer with high accuracy, a first-of-its-kind study result. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis used the Naveris, Inc. test to analyze saliva for sequences of the human papilloma virus (HPV) genome that are specific for HPV DNA released from malignant tumors. The test successfully distinguishes this tumor-tissue modified virus from non-cancerous sources of HPV DNA and precisely measures the number of tumor-tissue modified viral HPV (TTMV-HPV) DNA strands present in a saliva sample. The study results point to the potential for a significant improvement in early detection of the most common type of head and neck cancer, HPV-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. “Naveris’ patient-friendly saliva test has the potential to radically advance early detection of HPV-positive head and neck cancer, which has been growing rapidly among men in the United States. Early detection of these cancers would make a dramatic difference in patient outcomes,” said Piyush Gupta, PhD, CEO of Naveris. The study quantified participants’ tumor-tissue modified viral HPV DNA in saliva samples and compared it to the levels found in their blood by utilizing Naveris’ NavDx® test. The results showed that TTMV-HPV DNA was commonly found in the saliva of HPV-associated head and neck cancer patients (44/46 cases), and at 18 times higher levels in the saliva samples than in the blood samples. One sample had undetectable TTMV-HPV and one was indeterminate for HPV DNA. Washington University [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2021-06-03T09:01:39-07:00June, 2021|Oral Cancer News|