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| Image courtesy QUT |
It is believed to be world's first non-invasive test to pick up HPV-DNA in a saliva sample from an infected healthy person.
Persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is now the leading cause of cancers in the oropharynx (tonsils and tongue base area of the throat). The research study was published in the journal Frontiers in Oncology.
Currently unlike cervical cancer, there is no standard or routine screening program for HPV-driven oropharynx cancer. The results of this study indicate that such a saliva test that might detect the cancer early is feasible.
“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."
The person in the study had been consistently HPV-16 DNA positive for 36 months, with a steadily rising count of HPV-16 DNA after testing at 6, 12 and 36 months.
The patient was found to have a 2mm squamous cell carcinoma in the left tonsil, treated by tonsillectomy. This has given the patient a high chance of cure with very straightforward treatment.
Senior author of the study, Professor Chamindie Punyadeera said in a press release this was the first-ever case of histologically confirmed diagnosis of an asymptomatic, hidden throat cancer, diagnosed with a saliva screening test and that wider validation studies were required to confirm this finding.
Sources: QUT press release, and Frontiers in Oncology: "An Occult HPV-Driven Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Discovered Through a Saliva Test"
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