Dr. D'Souza on Spouses of HPV-Positive Patients

Gypsyamber D‘Souza, PhD, MPH, MS, an associate professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University, discusses the prevalence of oral HPV infections in the spouses of patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer.

An analysis looked at 147 patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer and 83 spouses/partners. HPV DNA was collected from all trial participants via an oral rinse. Overall, the study found that oral HPV16 DNA is common among patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer, but not among their spouses.

These findings are reassuring for these couples, D‘Souza notes, particularly since the risk of developing HPV-related cancer remained low even after several years.

To read more about this study >>>

<<<

View more from the 2013 ASCO Annual Meeting