A University of North Carolina (UNC) researcher and a California-based biotechnology company are partnering to create a rapid oral test for HPV.
Jennifer Webster-Cyriague, DDS, PhD, a professor with the UNC School of Dentistry and School of Medicine, is working with InSilixa. The team plans to use InSilixa's technology to identify which HPV strains are present and if there is a risk for developing oral cancer. The test was originally developed by Dr. Webster-Cyriague's UNC lab.
"Right now there isn't a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved test for oral HPV that's usable in the clinical setting," stated Dr. Webster-Cyriague, who is also a researcher at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Care Center, in a press release. "So the potential for this test is significant."
The eventual goal is that clinicians will be able to detect oral HPV at the time a patient presents for care. This round of testing is being funded by a nearly $225,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health.
