Sensitivity of tumor surface brushings to detect human papilloma virus DNA in head and neck cancer

About 85% of adults will have a human papilloma virus (HPV) infection in their life, but not all infections transform in a carcinoma, which develops from a persistent HPV induced lesion. In most cases the infection is transient and eliminated by the immune system [1]. HPV driven and HPV independent cancer of the head and neck have a different demographic, clinical, molecular and genomic entity [2]. The prevalence of this cancer has particularly increased in North America and Europe. Men younger than 60years are frequently affected [3].

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