Reconsidering serological strategies for HPV-driven oropharyngeal cancer screening

EBioMedicine 2026 Open access

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Authors: Nitya Krishnasamy, Hema Shree K, Sameep S. Shetty, Saravanan Sekaran
DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2026.106164
Cited by: 0
References: 6

Abstract

We read with considerable interest the study by Kusters and colleagues evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of an HPV16-L1 antibody rapid test for the detection of HPV-driven oropharyngeal cancer (HPV-OPC).1 This carefully conducted investigation provides an important real-world assessment of a commercially available assay that has been proposed as a minimally invasive screening tool. The reported low sensitivity (25·0%) and modest negative predictive value raise fundamental concerns regarding the biological validity and clinical utility of L1-based serology for HPV-OPC detection.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Head and Neck Cancer Studies Cervical Cancer and HPV Research Oral Health Pathology and Treatment

Publication details

Journal / source
EBioMedicine
Volume
125
Pages
106164–106164
Publication date
10 February 2026
Language
EN