• Posted September 12, 2025

First-Ever Detection For Early Head And Neck Cancers Under Development

A new blood test can potentially detect head and neck cancers caused by human papilloma virus (HPV) up to 10 years before symptoms appear, a new study says.

The test, called HPV-DeepSeek, detects microscopic fragments of HPV DNA that have broken off from a tumor and entered the bloodstream, researchers reported Sept. 10 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

If validated, this could become the first screening test available for HPV-related head and neck cancers, researchers said.

“Our study shows for the first time that we can accurately detect HPV-associated cancers in asymptomatic individuals many years before they are ever diagnosed with cancer,” lead researcher Dr. Daniel Faden said in a news release. Faden is a head and neck surgical oncologist at Mass Eye and Ear in Boston.

HPV causes around 70% of head and neck cancers in the United States. These cancers affect the oral cavity, throat, voice box, sinuses and salivary glands, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Because there’s been no screening test for them, these cancers are often diagnosed only after they’ve reached an advanced state and spread to other parts of the body, researchers said.

“By the time patients enter our clinics with symptoms from the cancer, they require treatments that cause significant, life-long side effects,” Faden said. “We hope tools like HPV-DeepSeek will allow us to catch these cancers at their very earliest stages, which ultimately can improve patient outcomes and quality of life.”

Previous research on the blood test showed that it potentially could be 99% accurate in diagnosing head and neck cancers, researchers said.

To try it out using real-world conditions, researchers ran 56 blood samples past the test — 28 from people who went on to develop HPV-related head and neck cancers and 28 from healthy people.

The test found HPV tumor DNA in 22 of 28 samples from people who later developed head and neck cancers, and returned negative results for all 28 control samples, researchers said.

Using AI, the team enhanced the test’s accuracy, enabling it to identify 27 of 28 cancer cases, including samples collected up to 10 years prior to diagnosis. 

HPV is spread primarily by skin-to-skin contact during sexual activity, but may also be spread from mother to infant if she is infected at time of delivery.

However, researchers noted that the test worked best on blood samples collected closer to the time of a person’s diagnosis.

The research team now is working to validate these findings in a follow-up study using hundreds of blood samples from the National Cancer Institute.

More information

The National Cancer Institute has more on head and neck cancers.

SOURCE: Mass General Brigham, news release, Sept. 9, 2025