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Meet others living with Head & Neck Cancer: Introduce yourself
Head & Neck Cancer | Last Active: Sep 21 5:27pm | Replies (538)Comment receiving replies
A immunohistochemistry test is used to determine if the the cancer cells are HPV positive and specifically what sub type of HPV virus. Typically if the cell smears are positive on panel 16, this is what they are looking for. A small percentage show up on panel 18 so this is known as HPV positive P(panel)18+. The + means positive as well. We could say a patient will have HPV positive panel 16 positive, panel 18 negative type but then we could also say panels 1 through 32 are also negative with the exception of panel 16. It's simple to just say P16+. The "P" means panel. The + means positive. So it's not really a mystery but is somewhat a code that lets others know the specifics of the cancer for treatment. The treatments for p16 and p18 are different. This was all explained to me by an oncologist.
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@ijones98280.
For additional info. there are over 150 plus strains in the HPV (Human Papillomavirus) family and most of the body's immune system typically eradicates the virus within two years 90% of the time and most strains of HPV go away permanently without treatment. Unfortunately, where it doesn't, can cause health problems like cancer sometime down the road. Age is a risk factor for oropharyngeal cancer. It’s more common in older adults because it takes years to develop.
Also, 90% of all oral cancers today are now HPV-related and mostly are made up of men. Of all those HPV strains there are a few that cause cancer such as, HPV 16 & 18 are most commonly associated with development of cancer. The HPV 16 strain is strongly associated with throat cancer.