Immune Response During Therapy With Cisplatin or Radiation for Human Papillomavirus–Related Head and Neck Cancer

Abstract

The HPV-positive tumors are not more curable based on increased epithelial sensitivity to cisplatin or radiation therapy. Instead, radiation and cisplatin induce an immune response to this antigenic cancer. The implications of these results may lead to novel therapies that enhance tumor eradication for HPV-positive cancers.