I know
HPV is not commonly associated with oral tongue cancers but does still factor in. Here's a study where 36% of oral tongue cancer cases were
HPV+:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20413270My husband was a patient through the VA and was biopsied and diagnosed at the VA. They did not test for
HPV. His tumor started back of center and grew forward. He would have lost 75% of his tongue based on being seen right after diagnosis, but the tumor grew significantly in the six weeks until his scheduled surgery date and he probably would have faced a total glossectomy. The VA would not consider neoadjuvant treatment prior to surgery (the ENT said it does not result in less radical surgery) or chemoradiation as primary nor was he pointed to a clinical trial. So we looked elsewhere.