When the human papillomavirus (HPV) is found in cancer tumours of the tonsil and base of the tongue, patients are more likely to survive following treatment.
The new research, published in the British Journal of Cancer, followed 198 patients in Australia for an average of two years after they had undergone surgery or radiotherapy for the disease.The researchers found that patients with HPV positive cancer were four times less likely to die than patients whose cancers were not caused by the infection.
