A blood test that can spot head and neck cancer up to a decade early
Detecting cancer before it shows clinical signs could change the future of oncology. Researchers in the United States have developed HPV-DeepSeek, a blood test that locates tumor DNA fragments associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV) up to ten years in advance. This innovation, supported by artificial intelligence algorithms, could become a revolutionary tool against head and neck cancers, whose incidence is increasing every year.
## A groundbreaking tool
So far, there were no specific screening tests for head and neck cancers linked to HPV, despite this virus being responsible for about 70% of cases in the United States. HPV-DeepSeek emerges to fill that gap and place early detection in previously unimaginable territory.
The key lies in complete genome sequencing and the use of machine learning algorithms that analyze plasma for tumor DNA.
## Promising results
The study included 56 blood samples: 28 from patients who later developed cancer and 28 from healthy controls. HPV-DeepSeek identified tumor DNA in 22 of the future patients and did not produce false positives among the controls, showing a high specificity.
The earliest result was recorded 7.8 years before cancer, although sensitivity increased the closer the sample collection was to the onset of the disease. By adjusting the AI algorithms, researchers were able to detect 27 out of 28 cases, even with a lead time of up to a decade.
## Clinical implications
According to oncologist Daniel Faden, lead author of the study, patients usually come to consultation when tumors have already grown and spread to lymph nodes, requiring aggressive therapies with permanent consequences. If tests like HPV-DeepSeek are validated, they would allow for earlier intervention, reducing mortality and consequences.
Currently, the method is being evaluated in a larger trial with hundreds of samples from the National Cancer Institute’s PLCO Trial. The goal is to confirm its effectiveness under blind conditions and with a greater diversity of patients.
The researchers caution that, at this point, the results are preliminary and the test is not available in clinical practice. However, if confirmed, it could become the first effective screening tool for a type of cancer that lacks such a method.
The arrival of HPV-DeepSeek illustrates how the combination of molecular biology and artificial intelligence can revolutionize preventive medicine. Beyond this type of cancer, the technology opens the door to similar tests for other tumors related to viral infections or detectable genetic alterations in blood.
If validated on a large scale, this breakthrough would not only transform the approach to HPV but also establish a new paradigm: anticipating the disease before it even shows its first sign.
