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HPV infection may forewarn of head, neck cancer risk: study

Xinhua, September 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

European Union (EU)-funded large-scale epidemiological studies have identified early warning signs for human papillomavirus (HPV)-induced head-and-neck cancer (HNC), potentially helping to save thousands of lives, according to a European Commission press release sent out on Wednesday.

HNC is the sixth most common type of cancer globally, with one of the highest fatality rates. Alcohol consumption, smoking, poor oral hygiene and genetic features are known to be key risks for HNC development, but in the last decade HPV was found to be another important factor.

More commonly associated with anogenital malignancies, especially anal cancer in men and women and cervical cancer in women, HPV is also now believed to be responsible for approximately 25 percent of HNC, with one type, known as HPV16, accounting for up to 95 percent of cases.

Under the HPV-AHEAD project funded by the EU, researchers from Europe and India sought to establish the overall proportion and type distribution of HPV-positive HNC, define infection and cancer incidence trends, and determine whether HPV infections interact with additional HNC risk factors.

The researchers were able to define accurate and efficient procedures to determine the presence of HPV infection.

Within the project, a team coordinated by Paul Brennan at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) back-tested the approach using blood samples taken from 500,000 people more than 20 years ago for an independent study, initially funded by the European Commission.

Their findings showed that antibodies against specific viral proteins can be detected several years before the development of a malignant lesion. By contrast, in cervical cancer, the same antibodies are considered very late markers.

"The immune response to HPV infection in the mouth and throat is very different to that in the cervix. The immune system is much more active in the oral cavity so antibodies are present much sooner after infection," explained Massimo Tommasino, the HPV-AHEAD coordinator at the Infections and Cancer Biology Group of IARC.

"This research should lead to new screening techniques for HPV-positive HNC, which would provide early warning for patients and contribute to the development of new therapies," added Tommasino. Endit