A comparative study of extracellular vesicle-associated and cell-free DNA and RNA for HPV detection in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Purpose: This study compares the detection sensitivity of two separate liquid biopsy sources, cell-free (cf) DNA/RNA and extracellular vesicle (EV)-associated DNA/RNA (EV-DNA/RNA), to identify circulating Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) DNA/RNA in plasma obtained from patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPCSCC). We also report on the longitudinal changes observed in HPV-DNA levels in response to treatment.

Experimental design: A prospective study was conducted that included 22 patients with locally advanced disease and six patients with metastatic OPCSCC. Twenty-three patients had HPV-related OPCSCC defined by p16 immunohistochemistry. Levels of circulating HPVDNA and HPV-RNA from plasma-derived cf-DNA/RNA and EV-DNA/RNA were quantified using digital droplet PCR.

Results:Circulating HPV-DNA was detected with higher sensitivity in cf-DNA compared to EV-DNA at 91% vs. 42% (p=

Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that although HPV-DNA/RNA can be detected in EV associated DNA/RNA, cf-DNA/RNA is the more sensitive liquid biopsy medium. As circulating HPV-DNA levels were found to only correlate with treatment response in the locally advanced but not metastatic setting in our small cohort of patients, the use of HPV-DNA as a dynamic biomarker to monitor treatment response requires further evaluation.

Keywords

head and neck cancer, tumour biomarkers

Link to Publisher Version (URL)

10.1038/s41598-020-63180-8

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