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Background Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) currently lacks sensitive approaches to detect cancer‐related traits in body fluid. Methods Methylation of tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) (PAX5, EDNRB, and DCC) were measured in the oral rinses from 50 HNSCC and 58 control subjects using droplet digital PCR (ddPCR). Diagnostic accuracies in detecting HNSCC and the detection rate of recurrence in the post‐treatment monitoring were analyzed. Results ddPCR TSG methylation detection in oral rinses for diagnosis of HNSCC had an AUC of 0.892 for PAX5, 0.753 for EDNRB, and 0.729 for DCC. Significant drop of TSG methylation was observed after completion of surgery (p

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is one of the commonest cancers in Southern China. The carcinogenesis is closely associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. In endemic regions with high incidence of NPC, EBV genome can be detected in virtually all NPC tumor tissues. Over the last decade, circulating cell-free EBV DNA has been developed as a tumor marker for NPC. Plasma EBV DNA analysis using real-time PCR has been shown to be useful for early detection, prognostication and monitoring of treatment response of NPC. In this review, the clinical applications of EBV DNA analysis in the management of NPC would be discussed.