A new research has been able to show that patients who are suffering from a type of cancer that has an impact on the back of the mouth, the probabilities of surviving the condition boosts up if the tumor contains the sexually transmitted bug that causes cervical cancer.

In actual fact, the presence of human papillomavirus, HPV, is the most significant interpreter of survival in oropharyngeal cancer, researchers from the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute have been able to find.

Lead author, Dr. Maura Gillison, an OSUCCC-James Medical Oncologist and Head and Neck Cancer Specialist said that preceding studies demonstrated that there is an association between the presence and absence of HPV in oropharyngeal tumors and patient survival; however, they were not successful in determining if other positive factors were also present in these patients, which were accountable for their better outcome.

These finding will help the field to make a move forward with additional clinical examinations, which will be designed to make out that how the experts should make use of molecular and behavioral factors, in order to personalize therapy for sufferers that will surely benefit them in getting better.