Sysmex Inostics, a global leader in the liquid biopsy revolution for oncology, announces the use of their HPV-SEQ test in the prospective University of Chicago clinical trial,1 “Pilot Study of Chemotherapy for HPV-Associated Oropharyngeal Cancer.”
“The ability to reliably detect HPV-DNA in plasma at such low frequency shows HPV-SEQ could be a promising non-invasive biomarker test for effectively assessing treatment response, appropriately de-intensifying treatment using real-time dynamic HPV quantification, and monitoring HPV-positive OPC patients’ post-treatment,” said Dr. Nishant Agrawal, Professor of Surgery at the University of Chicago. “Therefore, the HPV-SEQ test has the potential to be an important tool for oncologists in treating patients with HPV-associated head and neck cancer,” he concluded.
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Current standard therapy used to treat OPC patients is associated with acute and long-term toxicities from chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.2 In the trial, Dr. Agrawal and team will dynamically assess the level of cfHPV-DNA in patients’ blood and use this information to de-intensify treatment which would improve therapeutic outcome while minimizing treatment associated toxicity.
Sysmex Inostics senior director of medical affairs, Fred Jones, noted, “The University of Chicago trial is a strong step forward in showing the clinical utility of HPV-SEQ test as a tool in treating patients with HPV-associated head and neck cancer. We look forward to the results of the trial.”
HPV associated OPC has increased dramatically over the last decade. In the United States HPV is thought to cause 70% of oropharyngeal cancers, back of the throat, including the base of the tongue and tonsils.3