Not all patients with human papillomavirus-driven oropharyngeal cancer (HPV-OPC) have favorable outcomes. Accurate risk stratification has important implications for treatment and post-treatment surveillance. Yet, there are few clinical and no molecular markers of HPV-OPC recurrence. Several small studies (range: 52-115 patients) have evaluated HPV16 E6 antibodies as a potential prognostic marker; however, results are conflicting. Five prior studies evaluated pre-treatment HPV16 E6 antibodies and risk of recurrence among HPV-OPC patients; 1 study reported that increased pre-treatment HPV16 E6 antibody levels were associated with an increased risk of recurrence, 2 studies reported that HPV16 E6 seropositivity was associated with a reduced risk of recurrence and 2 studies found no associations. Six studies assessed the association between change in HPV16 E6 antibody levels post-treatment and risk of recurrence. Five out of 6 studies reported HPV16 E6 antibody levels decreased post-treatment; only 1 study reported an association between stable post-treatment HPV16 E6 antibody levels and risk of recurrence. The specific details of each study as well as future directions will be discussed.
N/A
N/A
N/A