This research is being conducted to understand if treatment can be tailored for participants with HPV-related oropharynx cancers using both clinical features (stage of the tumor, smoking status) combined with an investigational HPV blood test.

The names of the test and treatments involved in this study are:

• NavDx® HPV ctDNA testing (HPV blood test)
• Radiation therapy
• Chemotherapy: Cisplatin, or Carboplatin and Paclitaxel (not all participants receive any or all of these agents)

This research study involves HPV DNA testing (a blood test that measures the levels of DNA from the human papillomavirus in the bloodstream which investigator think sheds from the cancer itself), radiation therapy, and chemotherapy for some participants.

The research study procedures includes: screening for eligibility, and study treatments including evaluations and follow-up visits.

The names of the test and treatments involved in this study are:

• NavDx® HPV ctDNA testing (HPV blood test)
• Radiation therapy: Radiation therapy alone or combined with chemotherapy is considered a standard treatment for this disease. The investigators are researching the effectiveness of reducing the radiation doses and, in some cases, also reducing the chemotherapy dose for certain participants with favorable clinical characteristics and with certain HPV blood test results.
• Chemotherapy: Cisplatin, or Carboplatin and Paclitaxel (not all participants receive any or all of these agents)
• Study treatment will for up to 7 weeks and participants will be followed for 5 years from the beginning of the study.
• It is expected that about 145 people will take part in this research study.

The HPV ctDNA levels will be measured using a blood test called NavDx®, which will be provided free of charge from the company NAVERIS. ctDNA testing refers to circulating tumor (ct)DNA or measuring DNA fragments floating in the bloodstream that are released from the cancer cells. This testing has shown promise in early detection of cancer recurrence in several solid tumor types (including colorectal, urothelial, and breast cancer). Additionally, recent studies have shown a connection between baseline ctDNA levels and disease risk.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved NavDx® as a method for guiding treatment decision-making, but this is an important part of this research study. While the NavDx® assay is investigational, it is performed in a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA) certified clinical laboratory and is currently available as a clinical tool for measuring HPV ctDNA levels in some cancer patients. CLIA regulations include federal standards applicable to all United States facilities or sites that test human specimens for health assessment or to diagnose, prevent, or treat disease

This research study is a Phase II clinical trial. Phase II clinical trials test the safety and effectiveness of an investigational intervention to learn whether the intervention works in treating a specific disease. "Investigational" means that the intervention is being studied. Radiation therapy alone or combined with chemotherapy is considered a standard treatment for this disease. The investigators are researching the effectiveness of reducing the radiation doses and, in some cases, also reducing the chemotherapy dose for certain participants with favorable clinical characteristics and with certain HPV blood test results.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Participants must meet the following eligibility criteria at the time of screening to be eligible to participate in the study:

• Subject must have histologically or cytologically confirmed, stage I, II, or III (N3 disease excluded), HPV associated oropharyngeal (tongue base or tonsil) squamous cell carcinoma, as defined by 2017 American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC), 8th edition staging.

  -- Patients with HPV-associated disease of unknown primary (cT0) are eligible

• HPV status should be confirmed on tissue biopsy or cytologic sample by any of the following:

  • Immunohistochemical staining for p16 with ≥70% expression
  • Confirmatory DNA testing (PCR or ISH) for high-risk subtype

• Willing to provide blood and tissue from a diagnostic biopsy and blood samples before, during, and after treatment.

• Detectable HPV ctDNA blood sample at baseline, prior to treatment, using the NavDx® assay that detects HPV subtype 16

• Age 22 years or older

• ECOG performance status ≤ 2

• Participants should have adequate organ and marrow function if they are to receive chemotherapy (cisplatin, or carboplatin and paclitaxel) with radiation concurrently as determined by standard institutional guidelines and investigator preference (parameters suggested below).

  • absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1000
  • platelet count ≥ 100,000
  • total bilirubin of 1.5 or less
  • creatinine of 1.6 or less (or a CrCl ≥50 mL/min) per institutional standards.

• Planning to receive non-surgical management for HPV+ oropharyngeal cancer

• Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document.

• Women of childbearing potential must have a negative serum or urine pregnancy test (minimum sensitivity 25 IU/L or equivalent units of HCG) within 72 hours prior to the start of (chemo)radiation therapy. "Women of childbearing potential (WOCBP)" is defined as any female who has experienced menarche and who has not undergone surgical sterilization (hysterectomy or bilateral oophorectomy) or who is not postmenopausal. Menopause is defined clinically as 12 months of amenorrhea in a woman over 45 in the absence of other biological or physiological causes. In addition, women under the age of 55 must have a documented serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) level above 40 mIU/mL.

• Men who are sexually active with WOCBP must agree to use any contraceptive method with a failure rate of less than 1% per year. Men who are sexually active with WOCBP will be instructed to adhere to contraception for a period of 1 month after treatment. Women who are not of childbearing potential (i.e., who are postmenopausal or surgically sterile as well as azoospermic men) do not require contraception.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with AJCC 2017 8th edition stage IVC (metastatic) disease; or patients with fixed cervical nodal disease suggesting extranodal extension or N3 disease as suggested by lymph nodes measuring >6 cm.
• Subject who has had prior radiation and/or chemotherapy for head and neck cancer.
• Any history of oncologic surgical resection (transoral robotic surgery, TORS) or oncologic neck dissection prior to undergoing definitive RT or chemoradiation. Note: prior tonsillectomy as part of identification of the primary tumor site or biopsy and excisional nodal biopsy is/are acceptable provided the patient would be standardly treated to definitive treatment doses of therapy off protocol. Patients with HPV-associated unknown primary should not have undergone a neck dissection to be eligible.
• Undetectable baseline HPV ctDNA result by NavDx® testing or detectable baseline HPV ctDNA result for subtypes 18, 31, 33, or 35.
• Pregnant or lactating women.
• Uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements.
• Has a known additional malignancy that is progressing or requires active treatment. Exceptions include basal cell carcinoma of the skin or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin that has undergone potentially curative therapy or in situ cervical cancer, and low risk prostate adenocarcinoma being managed with active surveillance. A history of another separate malignancy in remission without evidence of active disease is permitted if chance3 of recurrence is thought to be low.

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. Requests may be directed to Sponsor Investigator or designee. 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.

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

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