University of Manchester scientists have discovered for the first time an important new way in which the human papillomavirus (HPV) triggers cancer in what could lead to new treatments for cervical and oral cancer (British Journal of Cancer, December 7, 2010).
HPV infection is known to increase the risk of developing cancers of the cervix and mouth, with the two high-risk forms of the virus accounting for about 70% of all cervical cancer cases, the researchers noted.
Vaccinations against these high-risk forms of HPV should reduce the incidence of cervical cancer, but the frequency of oral cancer actually increased in the U.K. by about 50% between 1989 and 2007, a trend that seems to be accelerating, the authors said in a press release.
"Scientists have known for some years about the link between HPV and certain cancers, but the biological processes involved are not fully understood," said Ian Hampson, PhD, who with wife, Lynne Hampson, PhD, headed the research. "Our latest results shed new light on this. Our study has shown that a protein in cells called Cdc42, which is already known to be implicated in a number of cancers as well as in tumor spread, is inappropriately activated by the human papillomavirus."
If the current vaccines prove effective at preventing oral HPV infection, the authors claim their findings provide additional justification for the current program of vaccinating young girls and may also lend support to extending the program to young boys too.
"If the vaccination program is shown to reduce the incidence of oral HPV infection, then this study would appear to support its continued use as a way to prevent HPV-related mouth cancer and perhaps consideration should be given to extending the program to boys," Hampson said.
The research was carried out in the Gynaecological Oncology Laboratories at St Mary's Hospital by one of the Hampsons' doctoral students, Anthony Oliver.
"There are literally hundreds of publications describing the potential role of Cdc42 in malignant disease, but our work is the first to show that HPV can activate this protein," Oliver said. "There is already a drive toward developing drugs that target activated Cdc42, and our findings now indicate that these agents may be useful for the treatment of HPV-related cancers too."
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