New blood test detects HPV-linked head and neck cancer recurrence 17 months early

For the many patients who survive surgery for HPV-related head and neck cancer, the silence after treatment has long carried an unresolved question: was enough done, or too much? A research team from Harvard Medical School and partner institutions has developed a blood test called HPV-DeepSeek that can detect microscopic traces of cancer up to 17 months before conventional imaging, offering medicine a way to distinguish those who need aggressive follow-up from those who do not. The test reads the complete viral genome circulating in the blood, a more sensitive approach than hunting for fragmen