“…Among all cancers, oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) has one of the most rapidly rising incidences in high-income countries [ 3 , 4 ]. The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) differentiates OPSCC prognosis based on human papilloma virus (HPV) p16+ status [ 3 ], introducing a different staging category in the latest eighth edition of the AJCC TNM staging system [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. P16-related OPSCC is strongly associated with a favourable overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival rate (DSS), while, conversely, p16 negative OPSCC often flags a worse prognosis [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ].…”