Saliva test could detect early stages of HPV-linked oral cancer

The University of Queensland (UQ) has received a major funding boost to its development of a saliva test to diagnose the early stages of head and neck cancer linked to human papillomavirus (HPV).

UQ’s Diamantina Institute and Smart Futures Senior Research Fellow Dr Chamindie Punyadeera have received a three-year $300,000 grant from The Garnett Passe and Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation for the research. She is collaborating on the project with Translational Research Institute (TRI) CEO Professor Ian Frazer and Dr Duncan Lambie from UQ.

Dr Punyadeera aims to reduce the mortality, morbidity and expense linked to HPV-associated head and neck cancer by providing a non-invasive and low-cost saliva test as an effective early diagnosis tool for high-risk groups, including young men and women engaging in oral intercourse and women who have or have had cervical cancer.

“The two predominant causes of head and neck cancer are smoking and the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is transmitted through sexual contact,” Dr Punyadeera said.

“While the percentage of head and neck cancer caused by smoking is on the decline due to a simultaneous decrease in tobacco use, the incidence of HPV-associated cancer is on the rise.

“There are no early detection or screening methods to diagnose HPV-associated head and neck cancer in high-risk population groups.

“My research aims to determine the feasibility of using saliva to diagnose high-risk HPV genotypes in head and neck cancer patients.”

She will then determine the likelihood of using this test to identify people at a high risk of developing HPV-associated head and neck cancer. The treatment options for these cancers - including surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy - are costly and debilitating.

“The development of early diagnostics will one day enable us to render targeted therapy, significantly reducing mortality and morbidity associated with head and neck cancer,” Dr Punyadeera said.

She has a close personal interest in finding a solution for this type of cancer.

“I lost my brother-in-law to cancer. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in November 2005 and he passed away in March 2006,” Dr Punyadeera said.

“I have seen how he deteriorated during this time and at the point of diagnosis his cancer had metastasised into other parts of the body.

“This is a strong motivation for me to develop diagnostic biomarkers to detect smoking-associated cancers.”

Head and neck cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the world, with 900,000 cases diagnosed worldwide.