Available online 13 August 2022, 200245

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide with an increasing trend of its incidence. Alcohol consumption, smoking, and viral infections, such as the mucosal high-risk (HR) human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are major risk factors for HNSCC development. In particular, HR HPVs are mainly associated with a subset of oropharyngeal cancers (OPCs), while other head and neck sites are marginally affected by HPV infection. HPV16 is the most frequently HR HPV type associated with HNSCC. In contrast to the cervix, no screening programs or identifiable pre-malignant lesions have been characterized for HPV-related HNSCC. Therefore, identification of general diagnostic algorithms and HPV biomarkers that could facilitate the early diagnosis, disease evolution and recurrence for HPV-driven HNSCCs are urgently needed. We herein review the role of HPV in HNSCC with a focus on epidemiology, applied diagnostic algorithms and available biomarkers in body fluids as early diagnostic tools in HPV-driven HNSCCs.

HPV

HNC

HNSCC

Biomarkers

Liquid biopsy

Cancer of the oropharynx

Early diagnosis

Diagnostic algorithm

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

oropharyngeal cancers

circulating free DNA

© 2022 Published by Elsevier B.V.