CD8+ T cell response to human papillomavirus 16 E7 is able to predict survival outcome in oropharyngeal cancer

This is the first study to provide survival data in OPSCC stratified by cell-mediated immune response to HPV16 peptides. Within the HPV16+ OPSCC cohort, enhanced immunoreactivity to antigen E7 was linked to improved survival. An increase in regulatory T cell frequencies after treatment may suggest that immunosuppression can contribute to a reduced HPV-specific cell-mediated response.