Lang Kuhs KA et al. - It has been hypothesized that human papillomavirus 16 (HPV16) E6 antibodies have been shown to be an early marker of the diagnosis and recurrence of human papillomavirus–driven oropharyngeal cancer (HPV-OPC). In the current study HPV16 E6 antibodies were shown to have clinical utility for the diagnosis and/or prognosis of HPV-OPC.

Methods

• 161 oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) patients were diagnosed based on pretreatment serum titers.
• 112 patients had pre-existing clinical HPV testing with p16 immunohistochemistry and HPV in situ hybridization.
• 86 of the 161 tumors were available for additional HPV16 DNA/RNA testing.
• HPV16 E6 antibody testing was conducted with multiplex serology.

Results

• 78 of 87 HPV-OPCs were HPV16 E6–seropositive and 24 of 25 HPV-negative OPCs were HPV16 E6–seronegative.
• 42 of 45 HPV16–OPCs were HPV16 E6–seropositive and 18 of 19 HPV16–negative OPCs were HPV16 E6–seronegative.
• Post-treatment HPV16 E6 antibody levels did not decrease significantly from the baseline and were not associated with the risk of recurrence.
• Pre-treatment HPV16 E6 seropositivity was associated with an 86% reduced risk of local/regional recurrence (HR, 0.14).