Anterior of the mouth HPV+ oral cancers are pretty rare. They tend to be base of tongue, where it begins to curve down your throat, the tonsils, the tonsillar crypt behind them and the oropharynx itself or the very back of the mouth you see when you look in the mirror. In order to type your cancer to HPV they have to test cells from the biopsy or the surgical removal of tumor tissue itself. Thousands of patients into this we just don't see that many anterior of the mouth HPV + SCC's.

That news story does not relate to either of you as nasopharyngeal cancers are in the back of the oral cavity and above it. The reason that news story was worth putting on the oCF site was that these types of cancers were historically the realm of the Epstein Barr virus not HPV. But now we are seeing some of those turn out to be HPV16 caused. Again an area right above the oropharynx.

I am assuming that you have all read the HPV page listed when you click the word HPV in any posting, or on the OCF web site.

Brian, stage 4 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director. The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.