The abstract is read at the publisher; the summary is JClub's.
In recurrence-prone HPV+ oropharyngeal cancers, a pre-treatment HPV-low tumor-cell fraction is strongly and independently associated with recurrence risk.
- Why it matters: HPV+ cancers contain an HPV-low cell subset whose biology and clinical impact are unclear, limiting biomarker development and understanding of therapy resistance.
- What they did: Integrated single-cell mRNA sequencing of patient tumors and patient-derived xenografts with variable therapy sensitivity identified HPV-low cells with altered senescence and differentiation programs and intact tumorigenic capacity. HPV-low cells in cisplatin-refractory PDXs and specific human OPCs upregulated RAS signaling, IL-6 signaling, and EMT pathways, with reduced epithelial identity and weaker cell-cell interactions.
- The result: The HPV-low fraction size predicts recurrence and is linked to aggressive, therapy-resistant biology, suggesting HPV-low cells as a biomarker and a target for studying plasticity between HPV-low and high states.
The findingWhy it mattersWhat they didThe result
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