Potential Therapeutic Targets and Non-invasive Procedures for Improving the Treatment and Follow-Up of HPV-Associated Malignancies

Dear Colleagues,

The identification of specific genotypes of human papillomaviruses (HPVs) as the main etiologic factors of anogenital neoplasia and a large proportion of carcinomas of the head and neck is well established. This knowledge has contributed to the development of an efficient prophylactic policy based on the use of HPV vaccines directed against these genotypes. However, the population of patients who are not able to benefit from vaccination remains high, and invasive carcinomas associated with HPVs are a huge burden in many countries. The role of viral oncogenes in the tumor process has been well documented, but, although the acquired knowledge on the biology of HPVs has permitted the implementation of a coherent approach to reducing the frequency of persistent HPV infections, no original therapy of HPV-associated carcinomas specifically directed against viral targets or virally altered pathways has been developed to date. This contrasts with the impressive efficiency of immunotherapies or original approaches based on the targeting of specific molecular motives developed in other tumor types. Furthermore, circulating HPV DNA as a tumor marker should serve as a model for the development of clinical applications for the detection of ct-DNA in solid tumors.

In order to review the potential development of innovative therapeutic approaches in HPV-associated carcinoma, Cancers proposes a Special Issue focused on Potential Therapeutic Targets and Non-invasive Procedures for Improving Treatment and Follow-up of HPV-associated Malignancies. This Special Issue aims to document more particularly some of the following aspects:

• To what extent does the HPV genome represent a rational therapeutic target in HPV-associated malignancies? In other terms, is the presence and/or the expression of the HPV genome necessary for the maintenance of the tumor state?
• What is the potential of new approaches such as mRNAs or CRISPR/Cas9 for the treatment of patients with HPV-associated invasive carcinomas?
• Immunotherapy has proven efficiency in the treatment of viral-associated tumors such as Merkel carcinoma associated with the Merkel Cell Polyomavirus (MCPyV). What are the perspectives of immunotherapy in the treatment of pre-invasive or invasive HPV-associated carcinomas?
• Are there pathways recurrently altered via HPV in the tumor process that could correspond to druggable targets?
• To what extent does HPV molecular characterization point to genetic alterations that may be used to improve the follow-up or treatment of patients with HPV-associated cancers?

We hope that this Special Issue will stimulate the consideration of potential therapeutic approaches offered by the presence of the oncogenic virus in HPV-associated neoplasia.

Dr. Xavier Sastre-Garau
Guest Editor

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