Dahlstrom KR et al. - In the current study, the diagnostic accuracy of antibodies to a panel of HPV-16 E antigens was shown to be effective in screening for oropharyngeal cancer (OPC).

Methods
378 patients with OPC, 153 patients with nonoropharyngeal head and neck cancer (non-OPC), and 782 healthy control subjects were studied.
Tumor HPV status was determined with p16 immunohistochemistry and HPV in situ hybridization.
HPV-16 E antibody levels in serum were identified with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results
Of the 378 patients with OPC, 348 had p16-positive OPC.
HPV-16 E antibody levels were significantly higher among patients with p16-positive OPC, but not among patients with non-OPC or among controls.
Serology showed high sensitivity and specificity for HPV-related OPC.