Methods for Detection of Human Papillomavirus in Head and Neck Cancer / 대한이비인후과학회지

ABSTRACT

Ever since human papillomavirus (HPV) has known to be associated with head and neck cancer, there have been many studies investigating the role of HPV as its causative factor. The most important thing among studies for HPV is to obtain HPV from cancer tissue and find out whether the obtained HPV is related to the development of cancer. However, until now, there has been no standardized method in diagnosing HPV infection. The various detecting methods for HPV and difference in sensitivity among experimental methods are one of the reasons for the controversy over the role of HPV. In this review, we present the advantages and disadvantages of HPV detection methods those are currently used and suggest standardized methods that may be used to detect HPV in head and neck cancer in the future.