NIH Grants Support Oral HPV Infection, Head and Neck Cancer Studies
The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research has awarded a five-year, $3.9 million grant to School of Nursing associate professor Canhua Xiao, PhD, RN, FAAN, and Emory University School of Medicine professor Lisa Flowers, MD, MPH, FACOG, to study the role of the oral microbiome and periodontal diseases in oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection among people with HIV.
HPV infection is a known carcinogen for oropharyngeal cancer, the most common HPV-associated cancer in the U.S. For people with HIV, rates of oral HPV infection and oropharyngeal cancer are higher than in the general population. The R01 project will examine the immunological underpinnings of oral HPV infection and whether social determinants of health play a role in the oral microbiome and oral HPV infections for people living with HIV.
Xiao also received a $3 million, R01 grant from the National Institute of Nursing Research to fund a multisite study assessing the role of the gut microbiome in the development of neuropsychological symptoms among head and neck cancer patients.
Symptoms such as fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, sleep problems, and pain are the most common and debilitating side effects of head and neck cancer and its treatment and can be prognostic to survival. Xiao will study the association between the gut microbiome and these symptoms through the role of short-chain fatty acids (products of the fermentation of dietary fibers by gut bacteria) and inflammation in the gut-brain axis (the communication network connecting the gut and brain) among patients receiving radiotherapy.
Findings from both projects may indicate new biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets for those with oral HPV infection and head and neck cancer.
