Summary
Project Summary/Abstract The goal of the EDRN Southwest Clinical Validation Center for Head and Neck Cancer is to improve oropharyngeal cancer screening through the rigorous validation of salivary biomarkers. The scientific approach of our Center is based on several fundamental principles. First, that human papillomaviral (HPV) infection and persistence induces carcinogenesis in the oropharynx over decades, generating well-documented circulating and salivary viral nucleic acid and serologic biomarkers. These biomarkers have not yet been tested in rigorous, prospective studies with centralized
