Grant: Project Grant

Oropharyngeal cancer is a type of head and neck cancer in which cancer cells are detected in an area of your throat called your oropharynx. This type of cancer can be caused by tobacco and alcohol use as well as HPV infection. There has been an increase in HPV related OPC that has been associated with a younger population (under 60 years of age). Despite a good response to treatment some people with OPC will have recurrent disease. These recurrences are often hard to detect and are therefore not diagnosed until the disease is at an advanced stage. We have developed a simple blood test that can be used to detect recurrent OPC before it is clinically evident. Our objective is to further optimize this test to facilitate commercialization in order for the test to be used routinely in the clinic. Earlier detection of recurrent disease will increase survival rates for people diagnosed with OPC.