Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and HPV-related head and neck cancer: what's next?

Head and neck cancer (HNC) represents one of the most challenging malignancies to treat in adults. During the past years, major advances in multimodal therapeutic regimen including surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy have helped to substantially improve prognosis and quality of life in HNC patients. Today, a significant amount of HNC is human papilloma virus (HPV) related and mainly includes patients who are aged <60 years with early T stage and advanced nodal disease. HPV status strongly influences prognosis [1]. As a consequence, an increased number of patients with HNC have good outcomes and preventive considerations become essential to advancing the field of HNC care.