HPV positive so far has shown to have better response to treatment, better prognosis, and less risk for secondary cancer. HPV smoker may be different. The recurrence rate for HPV positive is 15 percent, which is much lower than non HPV, which has a much higher recurrence rate. New findings has shown, for sone reason, possibly a sub-type HPV, has an increase in distant failure after 5 years, as opposed to non HPV involved, which levels off after two years...the first two years have the most recurrences. Also, the better prognosis for HPV is seen in oropharyngeal cancer, but not outside this area, but most HPV, 90 percent, involve the oropharynx, mostly the tonsil, BOT.

I would want to know the HPV status since it is a different biology than HPV negative , and therapies are being made to target them, including therapeutic vaccines in already infected HPV patients, which probably won't be available anytime soon, and as said, much is to be known about HPV, and treatments are the same for now, outside clinical trials. There is a concern with deescalation of HPV head and neck cancer, that it could change the success seen so far.