Spit test for virus-related head cancer
It is well known that human papillomavirus, or HPV, causes cervical cancer. But the virus has been linked to a number of other tumors as well, including head and neck cancer.
Since the treatment and prognosis for virus-positive and virus-negative tumors can be different, it has been a long-standing goal to come up with an easy, non-invasive test for the presence of the virus in head and neck cancer patients.
A group of researchers at the Hopkins School of Medicine, the Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Hopkins and the National Cancer Institute have shown that a simple oral rinse - essentially, spitting into a cup - can provide enough of a biological sample to test for the virus.
In two recent papers published in the journals Clinical Cancer Research and Oral Oncology, researchers use the oral rinse method to study the prognosis and treatment of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), a type of cancer that is frequently associated with HPV infection.
One strain of the virus, HPV-16, is particularly associated with various cancers. Interestingly, the cancer variants that are caused by HPV-16 actually have a somewhat better prognosis than those that are HPV-negative - HPV-16 positive patients are somewhat more likely to be cured.
At the same time, however, these patients are at a greater risk for additional viral infections. Re-infection with HPV during or after treatment for HPV-related cancer is of particular concern because it can be linked to worse treatment outcomes.
As a result, it is essential for physicians to know whether an HNSCC tumor is HPV-positive or HPV-negative. Although it is difficult to isolate the virus itself in an oral rinse sample, it is easy to find its characteristic DNA sequence, which is how the diagnostic method works.
The first study, published in the November issue of Clinical Cancer Research, looked at the risk of additional viral infections in patients with HPV-positive HNSCC tumors.
Since the treatment and prognosis for virus-positive and virus-negative tumors can be different, it has been a long-standing goal to come up with an easy, non-invasive test for the presence of the virus in head and neck cancer patients.
A group of researchers at the Hopkins School of Medicine, the Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Hopkins and the National Cancer Institute have shown that a simple oral rinse - essentially, spitting into a cup - can provide enough of a biological sample to test for the virus.
In two recent papers published in the journals Clinical Cancer Research and Oral Oncology, researchers use the oral rinse method to study the prognosis and treatment of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), a type of cancer that is frequently associated with HPV infection.
One strain of the virus, HPV-16, is particularly associated with various cancers. Interestingly, the cancer variants that are caused by HPV-16 actually have a somewhat better prognosis than those that are HPV-negative - HPV-16 positive patients are somewhat more likely to be cured.
At the same time, however, these patients are at a greater risk for additional viral infections. Re-infection with HPV during or after treatment for HPV-related cancer is of particular concern because it can be linked to worse treatment outcomes.
As a result, it is essential for physicians to know whether an HNSCC tumor is HPV-positive or HPV-negative. Although it is difficult to isolate the virus itself in an oral rinse sample, it is easy to find its characteristic DNA sequence, which is how the diagnostic method works.
The first study, published in the November issue of Clinical Cancer Research, looked at the risk of additional viral infections in patients with HPV-positive HNSCC tumors.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Julia Davies
posted 3/04/09 @ 3:37 AM EST
I have to agree with teh poster above... :/ looks like a lot of hot air to me.
Post a Comment