“For most patients with HPV-associated oropharynx cancer, after a negative three-month PET scan, physical exams with history and direct visualization are sufficient to find recurrences,” said Jessica M. Frakes, MD, an assistant member of the department of radiation oncology at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa and lead author on the study. “Minimizing the number of unnecessary tests may alleviate the financial and emotional burden on these patients, including overall health care costs, time spent away from work and family, and the anxiety of waiting for scan results.”

In addition to examining patterns of recurrence and detection, this study lends support to the effectiveness of specialist teams in treating HPV-positive OPSCC with definitive RT. Within three years, local control was achieved in 97.8 percent of all patients in the study; regional control in 95.3 percent; locoregional control in 94 percent; and freedom from distant metastases in 91.4 percent. The three-year overall survival rate was 91 percent. Nine percent of patients experienced severe late toxicities, including 19 grade three toxicities and two grade four toxicities with resolution in the majority (76 percent, 16 of 21 toxicities) at the time of last follow up. Sixty-four percent of toxicities and/or recurrences occurred within the first six months following treatment; only four events occurred more than two years following treatment.


“We were pleasantly surprised by the high cure rates and the low permanent side effect rates for these patients,” said Dr. Frakes. “These findings demonstrate that individuals with HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer who are treated with definitive RT and cared for by multidisciplinary specialists have excellent outcomes.”

The abstract, “Detection of Recurrence in HPV Associated Oropharynx Squamous Cell Carcinoma,” will be presented in detail during a scientific session on Friday, February 19, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. Mountain time at the 2016 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium in Scottsdale, Arizona. To speak with Dr. Frakes, contact the ASTRO media relations team at 480-905-7935 (February 18-19 only), 703-286-1600 or press@astro.org.

The 2016 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium is sponsored by the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the American Head & Neck Society (AHNS). The two-and-a-half day meeting includes interactive educational sessions focused on topics such as novel multidisciplinary therapies, directed therapy, treatment guidelines, prevention, surveillance and supportive care, as well as 13 oral abstract presentations of the current science of relevance to the head and neck cancer community. A total of 262 abstracts will be presented, including 249 posters. Keynote speakers include Tanguy Seiwert, MD, of the University of Chicago, to present “Immunotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer;” Robert I. Haddad, MD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, to present “Personalized Treatment for Head and Neck Cancer -- The Time is Now;” Quynh-Thu Le, MD, FASTRO, of the Stanford School of Medicine, to present “Precision Therapy in Head and Neck Cancer -- From Technology to Biomarker-based Risk Stratification;” and Neil Hayes, MD, MPH, of the UNC School of Medicine, to present “Genome Atlas and Sequencing Data: How We Use This Going Forward.”

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