Phase III RTOG Data Confirm Survival Advantage for Patients With HPV+ Oropharyngeal Ca

Article

T umor human papillomavirus (HPV) status is confirmed as a strong and independent prognostic factor for survival of patients with oropharyngeal cancer, report investigators for a large phase III trial established by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group. Results were presented at the 44th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO abstract 5510) and published in the New England Journal of Medicine on June 7. Investigators performed a retrospective analysis of the association between tumor HPV status and survival among 323 patients with stage III or IV oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma who were enrolled in a randomized trial comparing cisplatin therapy combined with either accelerated- or standard-fractionation radiotherapy. Risk of death among patients with HPV-positive vs HPV-negative cancer was compared using a proportional-hazards model.

Tumor human papillomavirus (HPV) status is confirmed as a strong and independent prognostic factor for survival of patients with oropharyngeal cancer, report investigators for a large phase III trial established by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group. Results were presented at the 44th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO abstract 5510) and published in the New England Journal of Medicine on June 7. Investigators performed a retrospective analysis of the association between tumor HPV status and survival among 323 patients with stage III or IV oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma who were enrolled in a randomized trial comparing cisplatin therapy combined with either accelerated- or standard-fractionation radiotherapy. Risk of death among patients with HPV-positive vs HPV-negative cancer was compared using a proportional-hazards model.

In the study, 206 patients had HPV-positive tumors and 117 were HPV-negative. The 3-year overall survival rate for patients with HPV-positive tumors was 82.4%, vs 57.1% with HPV-negative cancer. Progression-free survival rates were 73.7% vs 43.4%, respectively. Following adjustment for other significant determinants of survival (patient age, race, tumor and nodal stage, tobacco use), patients with HPV-positive cancer had a 58% reduction in risk of death relative to patients with HPV-negative tumors. Results will enable stratification of patients into clinical trials by low, intermediate, or high risk of death as determined by HPV status, tobacco use, and cancer stage. Head and neck cancer rates have declined in the past 30 years, but HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer is rising, with nearly 70% of oropharynx cancer cases determined to be HPV-positive.

Newsletter

Stay at the forefront of cutting-edge science with CGT—your direct line to expert insights, breakthrough data, and real-time coverage of the latest advancements in cell and gene therapy.

Recent Videos
Derek Jackson, BS, MA, the vice president of cell & gene therapy product development at Pacira, and Kilian Guse, PhD, the vice president of genetic medicine platforms at Pacira
Derek Jackson, BS, MA, the vice president of cell & gene therapy product development at Pacira
Jeffrey Chamberlain, PhD
Tami John, MD
Tami John, MD
Tami John, MD
Matthew Ku, MBBS, FRACP, RACP, FRCPA/RCPA, PhD, an associate professor and the lymphoma stream lead at St Vincent’s Hospital
Saurabh Dahiya, MD, FACP, an associate professor of medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine; as well as clinical director of Cancer Cell Therapy in the Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Cell Therapy at Stanford Medicine
Shahzad Raza, MD, a hematologist/oncologist at the Cleveland Clinic
Manali Kamdar, MD, the associate professor of medicine–hematology and clinical director of lymphoma services at the University of Colorado
Related Content
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.