so i received my neck ct results a couple of days ago and it was all clear doctor said there is absolutly nothing abnormal wich was a relief,BUT even tho it was clear and also the biopsy on the lump in my mouth was negative as well they still did not give me a clear answer on if i have HPV or not... im really scared about this, WHAT EXACTLY DOES HPV LOOK LIKE IN THE MOUTH OR TONSILS?? i spoke to a dentist over the phone yesterday and he said he has a test wich is done with a light in his office that test for oral cancers but its not 100% accurate wtf?? at least he was honest in telling me it was not accurate! he also said since the biopsy inside my mouth was negative why did the ENT did not do further testing to see if it needed to be removed "good point" i know that i should be happy that all this is coming back negative and i know that i should be enjoying my summer but what if this HPV thing is in me and its just waiting to manifest!! i wanna have a peace of mind and be able to sleep at night knowing that i am 100% clean, but everyone i go to does not know much about this!! CAN ANYBODY HERE HELP ME??

Congratulations! 90% of the population has been exposed to an HPV by age 25, and only a small percentage get HPV HNC, mainly HPV-16, which mainly, 90 %, is in the oropharynx, mainly the tonsil or base of tongue. I read in a post here, that it's like 1% chance. There is no reason to do BOT or Tonsil surgery if the biopsy was negative, which can have a detrimental effect, and would be unnecessary. My hospital required proof of cancer by surgical biopsy or FNAB, and if dine elsewhere, needed to send copies of the slides, and pathology report.

I don't know your age, but from 9-26, you can get the HPV vaccines.

[quote=leowilliams]CAN ANYBODY HERE HELP ME??[/quote]
Well, if you don't shout at ppl that might be a good start. I understand your concern, we all go through having to deal with all the same questions and issues as you are experiencing now.

First, the rule is cancer NE 100%. (ne=not equal) There is no such thing as 100% when discussing cancer. I'm too tired to take that on but that pretty much is the deal. So, eliminate the goal to have anything related to cancer to be firmly committed to at 100% certainty. There are a few certainties but not many so the sooner you get used to this notion, the better.

Second, If you don't have cancer then the topic of HPV is irrelevant. HPV p16+ staining is a test that can be done on the cancer to determine if it has this specific typing and if so, all experience so far indicate this type of cancer responds far better to current standard of care treatment meaning better outcomes.

If the tests came back negative for cancer, then there is no need to discuss HPV at all. Only if you had positive test results for cancer and being SCC then the topic of HPV is something to pursue.

Third, the dentist seems to be offering a "screening" for oral cancer. Nothing except for a biopsy is going to indicate if you have cancer. So he indeed may seem more knowledgeable but in fact may be just truthfully explaining his test service. Standard cancer biopsy testing does not provide the HPV+ indication, that is a different test.

Fourth, to answer your question CAN ANYBODY HERE HELP ME??, The answer is 100% YES, and answer is YOU. If your reading thus far has not enabled you to connect the dots on between HNC cancers and HPV+, then YOU need to calm down and do more research or get more consultation and listen to what the professionals are saying. Yes, listen not hear them. I am sure you are hearing them, you may be blocking out some of what they are saying; some of what I am repeating here.

Fifth, why they did not suggest removal of the tumors, I don't know. Are you sure the biopsy did not remove it all? I have too little info here to discuss this matter but understanding what the options are to resolve the tumor makes perfect sense. You need to get back to the ENT and get his report or what options he is recommending.

Good luck and keep asking questions and listen and seek the truth.

don

Chances are......

I may be a little off on these statistics so please correct me if I am...

Approximately 90% of adult US population has been exposed to the HPV virus and their system clears it without the virus ever creating a problem or any ill effects. Only 1% of those with HPV ever have the HPV continue to turn into something more serious such as anal cancer, genital warts, cervical cancer and oral cancer. Of the HPV+ oral cancers about 95% of those are located at the base of tongue or tonsil areas.

The "light" your dentist discussed with you will show abnormal areas in a patients mouth. The test will not identify exactly what is abnormal about that area. Only thru a biopsy will you get a definitive cancer yes or no answer. Being that your biopsy report was clean, that leaves means you're clean whether you have the virus or not.

"T"

T...

Actually, there are all kinds of numbers out there, depending when taken, where studied, country, reporting agency, and keep changing, of course. Here is one for oral, oropharynx, etc, for HNC, but not including tongue, from SEER in 2010, which stats are from 18 regions in the U.S. HPV is not seperated.

http://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/oralcav.html

in 2007, in the U.S..incidences of general orpharynx, incuding non HPV associated was 3.2 cases per 100,000/year/male and 1.9 per 100,000 all-sexes/year

http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2007/results_single/sect_20_table.09.pdf

CDC reports, probably based on Seer, 2007, says HPV oropharynx for males, , 6.2 percent per 100,000 and 1.4 per 100,000 for women,

I don't know the HPV rate for orophaynx cancer for the country from total population. whole. I don't like the 100,000 per capita stuff.

Thanks Paul!

That's still an incredibly low number of cases. Then take those numbers and how many were HPV related and it's pretty rare. However, in the H&N forums I go to (here and CSN) there are more HPV related cases than indicated by the numbers.

It seems something was added/changed in my post?

"T"

Oh, I change my posts all the time for correction, and to add. My computer shuts Down freezes often. I can only a link with my laptop, not iPad with my limitations. We have percentages of the cancers, but doesn't answer the percentage or chance of HPV turning cancerous in the oropharynx. Probably seen it.

thank you everybody for your replies.. it means alot to me.. i will call my ent on monday to discuss all my questions and concerns for example, the fact that my left side of my face and neck area the disconfort is still there and my ear gets clogged up, the fact that he checked my tonsils as well and said they look ok but the left tonsil is bigger than the right one, the fact that im always really tired and with no energy and minor headaches, and also i have a bump on the left side by my adams apple by the jaw that has been there for almost 2 weeks and pus keeps coming out of it, i am grateful that everything has came back negative, but i really need to find out and get to the bottom of this..
oh and "donfoo" i was not yelling or mad or anything like that i would never do that especially not to you guys that are such amazing people and show me so much support, i am just so stressed out over this that the caps was just to me being scared and not knowing what to do... i appreciatte you all and please feel free to tell me what steps to take next and what should i do thank you so much!

Did they check your ears? That could be the cause of your discomfort, and be referred pain. Good luck.

thanks paul... my ent said i need to get a hearing test in the next couple of months i will remind him next time i see him.