At-home self‑sampling for HPV-related mouth and throat cancer screening and follow-up
Official title: HPV-related Oropharyngeal Cancer Screening and Monitoring through Remote Self-Sampling
Funded at Baylor College of Medicine · NIH-11261739 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tests whether adults can use easy at‑home oral swabs and small blood samples to screen for and monitor HPV-related mouth and throat cancers.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Baylor College of Medicine NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Houston, United States) |
| Project start | April 19, 2024 |
| Project end | January 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $677,325 |
| NIH project number | 5U01DE032997-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11261739 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults aged 21 and older at risk for HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer, including people with prior HPV exposure, those needing after‑treatment monitoring, and individuals with limited access to clinics.
✕Less likely to help
People under age 21, those with urgent symptoms needing immediate diagnosis or treatment, or people with non‑HPV-related throat conditions are unlikely to benefit from this screening approach.
What this research studies
You would collect samples yourself at home (oral swabs and fingerprick or small blood specimens) and mail them to a lab that runs new tests for HPV antibodies and tumor-modified HPV DNA. Researchers will compare those home-collected results to clinic-based blood and swab testing to see if home sampling performs the same. The work expands prior clinic trials to include women and people with limited healthcare access and measures how acceptable and feasible self-collection is. The goal is to find a noninvasive way to screen and remotely monitor people for HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could detect HPV-related mouth and throat cancers earlier and reduce the need for in-person clinic visits.
How similar studies have gone: Clinic-based research has shown HPV16 E antibodies and circulating tumor-modified HPV DNA are promising biomarkers, but using remote self-sampling for this purpose is less well tested.
Where this research is happening
-
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sturgis, Erich Madison — Baylor College of Medicine
- Study coordinator: Sturgis, Erich Madison
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
AI-powered predictor for chemoradiation response in Veterans with oropharyngeal cancer
A new AI-based tool will help doctors tailor chemoradiation for Veterans with oropharyngeal cancer by predicting how each patient will respond to treatment.
-
OPC Survivor: Optimizing Long-Term Health After Oropharyngeal Cancer
This program studies how to improve long-term health and quality of life for adults treated for HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer.
-
Optimizing HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer treatment by selecting patients and reducing therapy intensity
This grant explores whether we can choose the right patients with HPV-positive throat cancer for less intensive, less toxic treatment while maintaining excellent outcomes.
-
Biological factors behind different outcomes in HPV+ oropharyngeal cancer
This project looks at why some people with HPV-positive throat cancer have better or worse survival, by studying tumor biology in a large Cleveland patient group.
-
Understanding how oral high-risk HPV progresses in people with HIV to prevent oropharyngeal cancer
This study follows HIV patients at high risk for HPV-related throat cancer to understand how oral HPV infections start and change over time, with the goal of catching precancer early.
-
Biomarker-based screening to find HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer early
A non-invasive oral gargle test is being developed to detect HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer at early stages, helping people at risk catch cancer sooner.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.