Simple test can detect HPV-related head and neck cancers up to a decade before symptoms appear

A NEW test has been found to identify head and neck cancers caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) up to 10 years before symptoms appear.

The blood test, that detects circulating tumour DNA, could improve cancer care and outcomes, say scientists.

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More than 3,300 new cases of head and neck cancers occur annually in the UK, with HPV-related cancers being among the fastest-growing types. 

The most common cancer caused by HPV is cervical cancer for which there are currently tests for.

In the UK, a smear test is offered to women and people with a cervix aged 25 to 64 to identify high-risk HPV.

But lack of screening for HPV-associated head and neck cancers mean patients are usually diagnosed after a tumour has grown large enough to cause symptoms and spread to lymph nodes.

In a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Mass General Brigham, researchers developed a new tool they’ve dubbed ‘HPV-DeepSeek’ to identify the cancers in their earliest stages.

They said by catching cancers earlier with the test, patients could experience higher treatment success and require a less intense treatment regimen.

“Our study shows for the first time that we can accurately detect HPV-associated cancers in asymptomatic individuals many years before they are every diagnosed with cancer,” said lead study author Daniel L. Faden, a head and neck surgical oncologist and principal investigator in the Mike Toth Head and Neck Cancer Research Centre at Mass Eye and Ear, a member of the Mass General Brigham health care system.

“By the time patients enter our clinics with symptoms from the cancer, they require treatments that cause significant, lifelong side effects.

“We hope tools like HPV-DeepSeek will allow us to catch these cancers at their very earliest stages, which ultimately can improve patient outcomes and quality of life.”

HPV-DeepSeek uses whole-genome sequencing to detect microscopic fragments of HPV DNA that have broken off from a tumour and entered the bloodstream.

Previous research from Faden’s team showed the test could achieve 99 per cent specificity and 99 per cent sensitivity for diagnosing cancer at the first time of presentation to a clinic – outperforming current testing methods.

To determine whether the test could detect the cancers long before diagnosis, researchers tested 56 blood samples from the Mass General Brigham Biobank – 28 from individuals who went on to develop HPV-associated head and neck cancer years later, and 28 from healthy controls.

HPV-DeepSeek was able to detect HPV tumour DNA in 22 out of 28 samples patients who later developed the cancer, while all 28 control samples tested negative.

The earliest positive result found was from a sample collected 7.8 years prior to diagnosis.

Using machine learning the researchers were able to improve the test’s accuracy so it was able to identify 27 out of 28 cancer cases – including samples collected up to 10 years before diagnosis.

The findings of the study are now being validated with a second study using hundreds of samples collected from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO) at the National Cancer Institute.

There are more than 30 areas within the head and neck where cancer can develop, including the mouth, voice box, throat, salivary glands, nose and sinuses, and the area at the back of the nose and mouth.

To prevent HPV-related cancers follow the steps below…