# RTOG 0129 (HPV analysis)

Source: https://onco.cc/trials/rtog-0129/  
OnCo record `rtog-0129` (Trial). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The analysis that showed HPV-positive throat cancers are a different, far more curable disease, launching two decades of de-escalation research.

## Summary

Ang et al., NEJM 2010: 3-year OS 82.4% for HPV-positive vs 57.1% for HPV-negative oropharyngeal cancer; HPV status was the strongest prognostic factor, with tobacco exposure modifying it. Led to a separate AJCC staging system for HPV-positive disease (8th edition) and the de-escalation trials that followed.

## Fields

- Kind: Trial
- Status: completed
- Last checked: 2026-09-07
- Registry id: NCT00047008
- Phase: 3
- Setting: Stage III-IV oropharyngeal and other HNSCC: accelerated vs standard fractionation chemoradiation; retrospective HPV analysis
- Sponsor: RTOG / NCI
- Enrolled: 743
- Result: 3-year OS 82.4% (HPV+) vs 57.1% (HPV-).
- Outcomes: Overall survival at 3 years by HPV status: HPV-positive 82.4% vs HPV-negative 57.1%
- Replication: Replicated across TROG, DAHANCA, and De-ESCALaTE cohorts.

## Sources

- ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00047008: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT00047008
- NEJM 2010: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa0912217

## Connected records

- cancers: [Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/head-and-neck/), [HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/hpv-positive-oropharyngeal-cancer/)
- technologies: [HPV & HBV vaccination](https://onco.cc/technologies/hpv-vaccine/), [IMRT / IGRT (modern external beam)](https://onco.cc/technologies/imrt-igrt/)
- companies: [NRG Oncology](https://onco.cc/companies/nrg-oncology/)
- terms: [HPV-positive (p16) head and neck cancer](https://onco.cc/terms/hpv-p16/)
- people: [Everett E. Vokes](https://onco.cc/people/everett-vokes/), [Maura L. Gillison](https://onco.cc/people/maura-gillison/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/rtog-0129.json