Head and neck cancers tied to HPV are now the fastest-growing type of HPV-related cancer in the U.S., but there’s one major problem — there’s no way to screen for them early. Unlike cervical cancer, which can be detected through Pap smears, these cancers are usually discovered only after tumors have already spread. That may soon change, thanks to a new blood test developed by researchers at Mass General Brigham.
The test, called HPV-DeepSeek, uses whole-genome sequencing to detect trace amounts of HPV DNA circulating in the blood. In trials, it identified 27 out of 28 future cancer cases — including some up to 10 years before diagnosis — with 99% accuracy. Lead researcher Dr. Daniel Faden said the goal is to catch the disease before symptoms appear, which could spare patients from aggressive treatments and improve survival rates.
The NIH-funded team is now testing the method on a larger scale, using blood samples from national cancer studies. If the results hold, HPV-DeepSeek could become the first early screening tool for HPV-related head and neck cancers — potentially saving thousands of lives and transforming how doctors detect virus-driven diseases.
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