An Occult HPV-Driven Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Discovered Through a Saliva Test

Kai Dun Tang; Sarju Vasani; Touraj Taheri; Laurence J Walsh; Brett G M Hughes; Lizbeth Kenny; Chamindie Punyadeera

doi:10.3389/fonc.2020.00408

An Occult HPV-Driven Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Discovered Through a Saliva Test

Front Oncol. 2020 Mar 31:10:408. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2020.00408. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Kai Dun Tang^{1

2}, Sarju Vasani³, Touraj Taheri^{4

5}, Laurence J Walsh⁶, Brett G M Hughes^{5

7}, Lizbeth Kenny^{5

7

8}, Chamindie Punyadeera^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Saliva and Liquid Biopsy Translational Research Team, The School of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
² Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Translational Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
³ Department of Otolaryngology, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
⁴ Department of Anatomical Pathology, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
⁵ School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
⁶ The University of Queensland School of Dentistry, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
⁷ Department of Cancer Care Services, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
⁸ Central Integrated Regional Cancer Service, Queensland Health, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.

Abstract

Oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) is a rising global concern. Early lesions are small and are often located in difficult to access areas (such as the crypts of the tonsils or base of tongue). Unlike cervical cancer, there is no standard or routine screening program for HPV-driven OPC. HPV DNA from OPC tumors may shed directly into saliva, and this can be used as a biomarker for early diagnosis. In this study, we report the first-ever clinically occult OPC in an asymptomatic patient discovered through a saliva test. This case relied upon serial measurements of HPV-16 DNA in saliva, which fell to undetectable levels following low morbidity, curative treatment.

Keywords: biomarker; human papillomavirus; oropharyngeal cancer; saliva; screening tools.

Publication types

Case Reports