Clocking Recurrence: Circulating Tumor HPV DNA Kinetics in Anal Cancer

Detection of circulating tumor human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA 3 months after completing definitive chemoradiation for localized anal squamous cell carcinoma associates with disease recurrence and inferior recurrence-free survival. These findings provide valuable insights into the temporal significance of circulating tumor HPVDNA detection in anal cancer and its potential implications for early intervention. See related article by Morris et al., p. 2399.