References
<<NavDx Reference List>>
HPV+ Cancer Detection with a Simple Blood Draw.
The NavDx® test is the first and most clinically validated liquid biopsy (a highly sensitive blood test) that can detect HPV+ head & neck cancer and HPV+ anal cancer, in many cases months before it shows up in clinical exams or on imaging.
HPV+ Cancer Rates Are Rising. Surveillance Has Not Adapted.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Studies show that 60–70% of head & neck cancers and 90% of anal cancers are caused by HPV. Rates of both HPV+ head & neck cancer and HPV+ anal cancer have been increasing for decades.
Even with successful treatment, recurrence is a real risk:
- Up to 25% of HPV+ head & neck cancer patients may experience recurrence12,28,29,30
- Up to 30% of HPV+ anal cancer patients may experience recurrence33
- Fear of recurrence is the number one concern for survivors after treatment ends,17 and this worry can negatively impact their quality of life
Post-treatment surveillance plays a critical role in catching recurrence early. Standard tools — physical exams, imaging, endoscopy, anoscopy — are valuable but limited. They may not detect disease outside the areas being examined, imaging frequently produces inconclusive results, and access to high-resolution anoscopy is severely limited across much of the United States.
A Liquid Biopsy Designed for HPV+ Cancer Biology.
HPV-driven tumors shed fragments of their DNA — called TTMV-HPV DNA (tumor tissue-modified viral HPV DNA) — into the bloodstream. This biomarker is specific to active HPV-driven cancer and is distinct from non-cancerous HPV DNA, making it a precise target for detection.
Standard liquid biopsy tests look for cancer-related mutations in human DNA. That approach is less effective in HPV-driven tumors, which have low mutation burden. The NavDx test was built specifically to detect the viral DNA present in HPV+ cancer cells — not mutations in human DNA.