The SPOT-HPV Study

January 17, 2026 updated by: Eleni Marie Rettig, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Characterizing the Specificity and Sensitivity of Oral TTMV-HPV DNA Testing: The SPOT-HPV Study

The purpose of this research is to evaluate a new test for oral HPV DNA in saliva ('oral rinse test').

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This cross-sectional study will characterize the prevalence of salivary TTMV-HPV DNA among participants with and without HPV-positive throat cancer

Oral HPV infection is common among healthy adult men, but most of these infections resolve spontaneously and only a very small percentage of oral HPV infections turn into HPV-positive throat cancer. This study is trying to understand whether this new oral rinse test detects HPV DNA from infection, cancer cells, or both. If this test is ONLY positive in people WITH cancer, it may be useful for diagnosing HPV-positive throat cancer in the future.

Along with the oral rinse test study participants will complete brief surveys and participants with a positive salivary TTMV-HPV DNA tests may have repeat saliva testing, blood tests and head/neck exam.

It is expected that about 360 people will take part in this research study.

An external laboratory called Naveris is supporting this research study by providing testing for HPV DNA.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

360

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115
        • Dana Farber Cancer Institute
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02115
        • Brigham & Woman's Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

14 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Clinic schedules will be screened by the study team to identify eligible participants.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 18+ years
  • Able to provide informed consent

  • Either one of the following:

    • Control cohort: Male individuals WITHOUT head and neck tumors that are, or may be, HPV-positive
    • Case cohort: Any individual WITH incident, untreated HPV-positive oropharynx squamous cell carcinoma

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Unable to provide informed consent
  • Head and neck tumors of non-oropharynx subsites that are or may be HPV-positive, including oral cavity, sinonasal, laryngeal, hypopharyngeal, or nasopharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Case-Control
  • Time Perspectives: Prospective

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Control Cohort: Adult Male Without HPV-positive throat cancer
Participants will receive 1x Salivary TTMV-HPV DNA Test. If test is negative there will not be follow up, if test is positive participants will have repeat Salivary TTMV-HPV DNA Test, a blood test and head and neck exam.
Diagnostic test: Salivary TTMV-HPV DNA Test
Mouthwash rinse
Diagnostic test: Blood TTMV-HPV DNA Test
Blood test
Case Cohort: Any Adult With HPV-positive throat cancer
Participants will receive 1x Salivary and Blood TTMV-HPV DNA Test(s).
Diagnostic test: Salivary TTMV-HPV DNA Test
Mouthwash rinse

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Prevalence of salivary TTMV-HPV DNA
Time Frame: 12 months
Percentage of controls without cancer compared with percentage of cancer patients who have TTMV-HPV DNA detected in their saliva
12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Eleni M Rettig, MD, Brigham and Women's Hospital

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

November 30, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

January 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 29, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 29, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

September 1, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 21, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 17, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 22-377

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

The Dana-Farber / Harvard Cancer Center encourages and supports the responsible and ethical sharing of data from clinical trials. De-identified participant data from the final research dataset used in the published manuscript may only be shared under the terms of a Data Use Agreement. The protocol and statistical analysis plan will be made available on Clinicaltrials.gov only as required by federal regulation or as a condition of awards and agreements supporting the research.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Data can be shared no earlier than 1 year following the date of publication

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Contact the Belfer Office for Dana-Farber Innovations (BODFI) at innovation@dfci.harvard.edu

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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