Study Explores Cancer Risks and Oral HPV Prevalence in Partners with HPV Related Throat Cancer
Findings Suggest Oral HPV Infection and Cancer Exposure Remains Low
Many patients with throat cancer associated with oral human papillomavirus (HPV) have anxiety about transmitting the virus to their partners’ and increasing their cancer risk. However, a multi-center prospective study co-led by researchers at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai suggests that cancer risk in partners remain low. The research is reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO).
“The incidence of HPV-related cancer has increased dramatically over the past three decades, but we have limited understanding how the disease progresses of if it is transmitted to the partners of these patients,” said Marshall Posner, MD, Director of Head and Neck Medical Oncology and Office of Cancer Clinical Trials, Associate Director of the Center for Personalized Cancer Therapeutics, and Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Medical Oncology, Tisch Cancer Center at Mount Sinai. “Often, HPV infections that do become cancers often take years to develop. This is the first study to demonstrate that partners of HPV patients with cancer do not have any detectable cancer DNA, and that most partners are not exposed to any active infections.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 79 million Americans are currently infected with HPV with 14 million new cases each year. HPV is commonly spread through sexual contact. Most sexually-active men and women are diagnosed with one type of HPV at some point in their lives. In the United States, more than half of the cancers diagnosed in the oropharynx are linked to HPV.
The study reviewed the histories of 164 patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer (HPV-ONC) and 93 of their spouses or long-term partners. The subjects were enrolled in head and neck cancer clinics at four study sites including Mount Sinai, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the Oregon Health and Science University.
Participants in the study were given an oral rinse where exfoliated cells were collected along with a base line blood sample and cancer history. A detailed risk factor survey was also collected at each visit, including questions on demographics, tobacco and alcohol use, and detailed sexual behaviors. Of the 164 enrolled patients with HPV-ONC, most had stage 4 cancers and oral HPV DNA in their tumors. Partners were primarily female, had performed oral sex, and were never smokers.
This study was funded by the Johns Hopkins Richard Gelb Prevention Award, and a research grant from the Early Detection Research Network.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the nation’s leading integrated academic health systems and one of the largest in the New York metropolitan area. Its comprehensive system includes seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, over 600 research and clinical laboratories, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing. Together, the Health System comprises approximately 48,000 employees, more than 9,000 physicians, and 8,600 nurses.
As a leading learning health system, Mount Sinai combines clinical expertise with scientific discovery to improve patient care while training the next generation of health care and biomedical leaders. The Health System provides care across every stage of life, from prenatal care through geriatrics, while advancing personalized medicine through artificial intelligence, data science, and biomedical research.
Mount Sinai is consistently recognized among the nation’s leading academic health systems for patient care, research, and education. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 1 in New York by Newsweek® and No. 7 in the U.S. on the magazine’s 2026 World’s Best Hospitals list and No. 3 in the world in its World’s Best Smart Hospitals list. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ranks No. 9 among U.S. medical schools and No. 1 among freestanding medical schools for National Institutes of Health grant funding, reflecting the strength of its scientific enterprise and leadership in biomedical research.
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