My husband's tonsillar/base of tongue (primary tumor) was caused by HPV 16. His diagnosis was made by doing a biopsy of that area (even though he had one lymph node that was positive on a CAT scan, his lymph nodes were never biopsied). The goal of the biopsy was to find the primary tumor site. He had no "traditional" risk factors for oral cancer so after reading research we quickly came across Maura Gillison's work and thought it likely that his was caused by HPV 16 (although in many ways he doesn't fit the "profile" for the typical person with HPV 16+ oral cancer). He was treated at Johns Hopkins and we requested that the biopsy material be tested for HPV although I think it's become pretty routine at Hopkins.

He did have a significant life stressor (long, protracted death of his mother where he was her primary support) a few years before he was diagnosed and we've often wondered if that was when his immune system "blinked" (to use David's term). Given our long history as a couple, he's (or perhaps me?) either harbored the virus for many, many years or he acquired it from non-sexual contact.