{"entity":{"id":"hpv-p16","kind":"term","name":"HPV-positive (p16) head and neck cancer","aka":[],"tldr":"Throat cancers caused by the human papillomavirus, identified by a p16 stain. They affect younger non-smokers and are far more curable than tobacco-related cancers.","summary":"p16 immunohistochemistry is the surrogate for HPV-driven oropharyngeal cancer (confirmed by HPV DNA/RNA where required). Incidence is rising in Western countries and now exceeds cervical cancer in the US. Separate AJCC 8th-edition staging; 3-year OS >80% with chemoradiation (RTOG 0129). De-escalation trials have so far failed to identify who can safely receive less treatment; HPV vaccination is expected to reduce incidence from the 2030s.","asOf":"2026-09-07","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HPV-positive_oropharyngeal_cancer","links":[{"label":"Wikipedia","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HPV-positive_oropharyngeal_cancer"}],"tags":[],"related":[],"cancers":["head-and-neck","hpv-positive-oropharyngeal-cancer"],"sections":[],"technologies":["hpv-vaccine","cthpv-dna"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":["rtog-0129","nrg-hn002-hn005","ecog-e3311"],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"category":"Biomarkers"},"route":"/terms/hpv-p16/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"cervical-adenosquamous-carcinoma","kind":"cancer","name":"Adenosquamous carcinoma of the cervix","route":"/cancers/cervical-adenosquamous-carcinoma/"},{"id":"anal","kind":"cancer","name":"Anal cancer (squamous cell carcinoma)","route":"/cancers/anal/"},{"id":"anal-hsil-precursor","kind":"cancer","name":"Anal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (precursor)","route":"/cancers/anal-hsil-precursor/"},{"id":"cup-favourable-subsets","kind":"cancer","name":"Cancer of unknown primary, favourable subsets","route":"/cancers/cup-favourable-subsets/"},{"id":"head-and-neck","kind":"cancer","name":"Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma","route":"/cancers/head-and-neck/"},{"id":"hpv-associated-vulvar-cancer","kind":"cancer","name":"HPV-associated vulvar squamous cell carcinoma","route":"/cancers/hpv-associated-vulvar-cancer/"},{"id":"hpv-independent-vulvar-cancer","kind":"cancer","name":"HPV-independent vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (p53-mutant)","route":"/cancers/hpv-independent-vulvar-cancer/"},{"id":"hpv-negative-head-and-neck-cancer","kind":"cancer","name":"HPV-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (including HPV-negative oropharyngeal cancer)","route":"/cancers/hpv-negative-head-and-neck-cancer/"},{"id":"hpv-positive-oropharyngeal-cancer","kind":"cancer","name":"HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer","route":"/cancers/hpv-positive-oropharyngeal-cancer/"},{"id":"localised-anal-cancer","kind":"cancer","name":"Localised anal squamous cell carcinoma (stage I to III)","route":"/cancers/localised-anal-cancer/"},{"id":"localised-penile-cancer","kind":"cancer","name":"Localised penile cancer (organ-confined, node-negative)","route":"/cancers/localised-penile-cancer/"},{"id":"metastatic-anal-cancer","kind":"cancer","name":"Metastatic and recurrent anal squamous cell carcinoma","route":"/cancers/metastatic-anal-cancer/"},{"id":"node-positive-penile-cancer","kind":"cancer","name":"Node-positive and metastatic penile cancer","route":"/cancers/node-positive-penile-cancer/"},{"id":"penile","kind":"cancer","name":"Penile cancer","route":"/cancers/penile/"},{"id":"cervical-small-cell-neuroendocrine-carcinoma","kind":"cancer","name":"Small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the cervix","route":"/cancers/cervical-small-cell-neuroendocrine-carcinoma/"},{"id":"urethral-squamous-cell-carcinoma","kind":"cancer","name":"Squamous cell carcinoma of the urethra","route":"/cancers/urethral-squamous-cell-carcinoma/"},{"id":"urethral","kind":"cancer","name":"Urethral cancer","route":"/cancers/urethral/"},{"id":"vaginal","kind":"cancer","name":"Vaginal cancer","route":"/cancers/vaginal/"},{"id":"vaginal-squamous-cell-carcinoma","kind":"cancer","name":"Vaginal squamous cell carcinoma (HPV-associated)","route":"/cancers/vaginal-squamous-cell-carcinoma/"},{"id":"vulvar","kind":"cancer","name":"Vulvar cancer","route":"/cancers/vulvar/"}],"technology":[{"id":"cthpv-dna","kind":"technology","name":"Circulating tumour HPV DNA (ctHPV-DNA)","route":"/technologies/cthpv-dna/"},{"id":"hpv-vaccine","kind":"technology","name":"HPV & HBV vaccination","route":"/technologies/hpv-vaccine/"}],"trial":[{"id":"ecog-e3311","kind":"trial","name":"ECOG-ACRIN E3311","route":"/trials/ecog-e3311/"},{"id":"nrg-hn002-hn005","kind":"trial","name":"NRG-HN002 & NRG-HN005 (HPV+ de-escalation)","route":"/trials/nrg-hn002-hn005/"},{"id":"pathos","kind":"trial","name":"PATHOS","route":"/trials/pathos/"},{"id":"rtog-0129","kind":"trial","name":"RTOG 0129 (HPV analysis)","route":"/trials/rtog-0129/"}],"pairing":[{"id":"hpv-deescalation-caution","kind":"pairing","name":"Caution: de-escalating radiation on HPV status alone","route":"/pairings/hpv-deescalation-caution/"}],"idea":[{"id":"idea-cthpv-adapted-deescalation","kind":"idea","name":"ctHPV-DNA-adapted de-escalation of chemoradiation","route":"/ideas/idea-cthpv-adapted-deescalation/"}],"person":[{"id":"harald-zur-hausen","kind":"person","name":"Harald zur Hausen","route":"/people/harald-zur-hausen/"}],"bottleneck":[{"id":"b-prevention-adoption","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Prevention we already have is not deployed","route":"/bottlenecks/b-prevention-adoption/"}],"pathway":[{"id":"oncogenic-viruses","kind":"pathway","name":"Oncogenic viruses","route":"/pathways/oncogenic-viruses/"}]}}