Salivary Microbiome Profiling of HPV+ and HPV- Oropharyngeal Head and Neck Cancer Patients Undergoing Durvalumab Immunotherapy Suggests <i>Prevotella melaninogenica</i> and <i>Veillonella atypica</i> as Key Players: A Pilot Study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Head and neck cancer (HNC) is a common cancer represented by nearly 80% oral cavity (OC) and oropharyngeal cancers (OPCs). Seventy percent of OPCs are associated with the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). Immunotherapy holds the promise of future improvements in treating HNC patients. The study objective was to determine whether durvalumab immunotherapy alone, prior to curative surgery, would significantly impact the oral salivary microbiome in a pilot cohort of HPV negative and positive OC and OPC patients.

Methods

Early stage OPC patients with squamous cell carcinoma were recruited: 5 HPV+ and 12 HPV-, and treated with two or three administrations of durvalumab given every two weeks, prior to surgery. Unstimulated saliva was collected and processed for bacterial DNA I

SUBMITTER: Mougeot JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11815830 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature