(Medical University of South Carolina) Patients with head and neck cancer who are also positive for human papilloma virus (HPV) are known to have a better prognosis compared to patients with HPV-negative disease, independent of therapeutic intervention. Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina Hollings Cancer Center have discovered one reason why and have identified a peptide that, in preclinical studies, can act on the identified mechanism to improve outcomes in HPV-negative head and neck cancer.