Blood Test Spot On for HPV Cancer Recurrence
Source: MedPage Today Date: April 1st, 2020 Author: Charles Bankhead A blood test for tumor-associated human papillomavirus (HPV)-DNA had near-perfect accuracy for identifying oropharyngeal cancer patients at high risk of recurrence after treatment, a prospective study showed. Overall, 28 patients tested positive for circulating tumor (ct) HPV-DNA, including 16 patients who had two consecutive positive tests. All but one of the 16 patients subsequently had biopsy-proven disease recurrence. No patient who had only negative tests developed recurrent disease. The findings have clear and immediate implications for clinical practice, including earlier initiation of salvage therapy for patients with recurrent disease, reported Bhisham S. Chera, MD, of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. "With regard to how this is applicable to clinical practice, I think it improves the effectiveness, it improves the efficiency, and it reduces the cost and financial toxicity to patients," Chera told MedPage Today. "This blood test's performance is really good: Negative predictive value (NPV) 100%, two consecutive positive tests, 94% positive predictive value (PPV). This performs better than any physical examination, PET/CT, or fiberoptic re-examination in identifying cancer recurrence. Right now, I think this is the best surveillance tool we have." The findings extended those of a previous report, which showed that a persistently negative ctHPV-DNA test ruled out disease recurrence. HPV infection accounts for a majority of new cases of oropharyngeal cancer in the U.S. After years of rapid increases in prevalence and [...]