Association of Pretreatment Circulating Tumor Tissue–Modified Viral HPV DNA With Clinicopathologic Factors in HPV-Positive Oropharyngeal Cancer

Abstract

In this cross-sectional study, circulating TTMV HPV DNA was statistically significantly associated with nodal disease at HPV-positive OPSCC diagnosis. The few patients with undetectable levels had predominantly clinical stage N0 disease, suggesting assay sensitivity for diagnostic purposes may be lower among patients without cervical lymphadenopathy. Mechanisms underlying this association, and the use of this biomarker for surveillance of patients with undetectable baseline values, warrant further investigation.