Marshall Posner, MD

Marshall Posner, MD, Medical Director, Head and Neck Oncology Center, Mount Sinai Medical Center, discusses factors that contribute to an improved prognosis for patients with HPV-positive head and neck cancer when compared to patients who are HPV-negative. 

Posner explains that several retrospective studies have confirmed that HPV-positive oropharynx cancer is highly response to surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. This translates into a better prognosis for patients with HPV-positive disease. This variation is associated with biologic and demographic differences between the two patient populations.

Patients with environmentally caused, HPV-negative, head and neck cancer generally have a higher risk of developing a second tumor, Posner explains. Additionally, they deal with higher rates of smoking-related comorbidities. Inversely, those with HPV-positive tumors are usually younger and healthier. Biologically, HPV-positive tumors respond significantly better to treatment than negative.

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Marshall Posner, MD, from Mount Sinai Medical Center, discusses the factors that improve the prognosis for patients with HPV-positive head and neck cancer when compared to patients who are HPV-negative.

Dr. Posner on HPV-Positive Oropharynx Cancer

Marshall Posner, MD, Medical Director, Head and Neck Oncology Center, Mount Sinai Medical Center, discusses the growing need for preventive measures to prevent the spread of human papillomavirus (HPV) related cancers.

Cancers associated with HPV is unique because the virus is transmitted sexually. Twenty-five percent of teenage girls are infected; this number increases by the time they reach their mid-20s. In addition the virus also affects the men that come into contact with the infected women.

HPV is the cause of cervical cancer in women and is becoming predominately associated with oropharyngeal cancer in men. As the amount of cancers associated with the virus increases it becomes increasingly clear that prevention is needed.

Posner notes that prevention will not impact the rate of cancer until it has been in place for nearly 30 years; the cancer rates will only begin to decline if the vaccine is capable of preventing virus inoculation.

Dr. Marshall Posner, from Mount Sinai Medical Center, Discusses the Link Between HPV and Cancer

Author | Marshall Posner, MD

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Dr. Posner on HPV-Positive Oropharynx Cancer

Dr. Posner Discusses the Link Between HPV and Cancer