Scientists untangle the evolutionary history of the world’s most common STI

Source: www.iflscience.com Author: Rosie McCall Scientists have analyzed the genomes of viruses to reveal the surprisingly complex evolutionary past of the human papillomavirus (HPV), exposing the salacious details of our ancestors' sexual history in the process. HPV comes in several flavors but HPV16 is the most common subtype worldwide – and it is the one most frequently identified in cervical cancer. Together HPV16 and HPV18 are responsible for 70 percent of all cases, accord to stats from the World Health Organization (WHO). The problem is, it isn't exactly clear how HPV strains contribute to cervical cancer (and other types, including cancer of the anus, the throat, the base of the tongue, and the tonsils). Or why the virus naturally clears in some people but not others. Researchers hope that studying the evolution of the virus will expose biological insights and point at mechanisms that might explain how cervical cancer develops. To try to untangle HPV16's thorny evolutionary past, scientists led by the Chinese University of Hong Kong isolated and examined oral, perianal, and genital samples in 10 adult female squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) and eight adult rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta), half of whom were male and half of whom were female. They found that the virus strains with most in common came from the same part of the body – meaning the oral samples from the squirrel monkeys and rhesus monkeys had more in common than oral and genital samples from the same species, for example. This, the authors say, [...]

2018-11-05T12:52:42-07:00November, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

Less Is More for HPV Oropharyngeal Cancer Reduced-intensity regimen clears disease in 86% of cases

Source: www.medpagetoday.comAuthor: Charles Bankhead SAN ANTONIO -- Less intense treatment of low-risk human papillomavirus (HPV)-related oropharyngeal cancer achieved a high rate of pathologic complete response (pCR) and favorable patient-reported outcomes, a preliminary trial showed. Overall, 37 of 43 (86%) patients achieved pCR with deintensified chemoradiation, including all but one evaluable primary tumor. The pCR rate was virtually identical to historical rates achieved with standard regimens, according to Bhishamjit Chera, MD, of the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, and colleagues. Selected patient-reported adverse events peaked during the first 6 to 8 weeks and then declined thereafter. About 40% of patients required feeding tubes for a median duration of 15 weeks, but no patients required permanent feeding tubes, they reported here at the American Society for Radiation Oncology meeting. The regimen consists of lower doses of radiotherapy and concurrent cisplatin, administered over 6 weeks. With high-dose therapy, the radiation protocol requires an additional week. "Though we have limited follow-up, the pathological complete response rate with this reduced-intensity chemoradiotherapy regimen is very high in patients with favorable-risk oropharyngeal squamous-cell carcinoma," Chera said. "The early quality-of-life measurements are encouraging, particularly the data on swallowing. We are optimistic that these results with reduced-intensity treatment will translate into good long-term disease control with less toxicity." The study reflects the current trend and momentum in the management of HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer, said Zain Husain, MD, of Yale Cancer Center in New Haven, Conn. "This is the second study to show that de-escalation of therapy might [...]

2015-10-21T14:59:53-07:00October, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

BT Pharma secures EUR 13.1million (USD 17.7 million) in capital funding and changes its name to Genticel

Source: pharmalive.com/News Author: press release BT Pharma, a biopharmaceutical company developing innovative immunotherapies to prevent cancers caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), announces today that it has raised EUR 13.1 million in additional funding and changed its name to Genticel. AGF Private Equity led the round, which brought in three new investors, IRDI (Institut Régional de Développement Industriel), Amundi Private Equity Funds and InnoBio fund, managed by CDC Entreprises, within FSI France Investment program. Previous investors, including Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners (EdRIP), also took part. To best leverage its unique and broadly applicable therapeutic vaccine platform, Adenylate Cyclase (CyaA), Genticel will focus its efforts on the prevention of cervical cancer in HPV infected women. A phase I clinical trial of Genticel's lead therapeutic HPV vaccine, ProCervix, is scheduled for the second quarter of 2010. This bivalent product, which carries antigens originating from both HPV16 and HPV18, should offer a curative vaccine solution that will complement current prophylactic vaccines. "This level of support from investors, particularly in the current economic environment, is extremely encouraging and confirms the potential of our drug candidates and our business plan," said Dr Benedikt Timmerman, CEO at Genticel. "The new funding will not only enable us to conduct our 'first-in-man' clinical trial with the CyaA technology but also allow the company to prepare for phase II in the same indication and prepare pipeline products up to the development stage." Dr Alain Munoz, MD, representative of AGF Private Equity, who has joined the Supervisory Board of [...]

HPV data may aid vaccine’s effectiveness

Source: health.usnews.com Author: staff The majority of invasive cervical cancers in New Mexico in the 1980s and 1990s contained DNA from human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) and HPV type 18 (HPV18), says a new study. It also found that women diagnosed with HPV16- or HPV18-positive cancers were an average of five years younger than those diagnosed with cancers associated with other HPV types. The HPV vaccine (Gardasil) protects against infections caused by HPV16 and HPV18, so the new findings may have implications for future cancer screening programs, the researchers said. The researchers analyzed U.S. data in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results registry and identified 1,213 cases of in situ cervical cancer diagnosed between 1980 and 1999, as well as 808 cases of invasive cervical cancer diagnosed between 1980 and 1999 in New Mexico. HPV16 DNA was found in 53.2 percent of invasive cervical cancers, HPV18 DNA was found in 13.1 percent, and HPV45 DNA in 6.1 percent. HPV16 DNA was found in 56.3 percent of in situ cervical cancers, HPV31 DNA in 12.6 percent, and HPV33 DNA in 8 percent. Patients' median age at diagnosis of invasive cancer with HPV16 and HPV18 was 48.1 years, and 45.9 years, respectively. Median age at diagnosis of invasive cancer with other HPV genotypes was 52.3 years. The study is in the March 24 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. "To our knowledge, this is the largest study of its kind conducted in a U.S. population," wrote a team [...]

HPV data may aid vaccine’s effectiveness

Source: health.usnews.com Author: staff The majority of invasive cervical cancers in New Mexico in the 1980s and 1990s contained DNA from human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) and HPV type 18 (HPV18), says a new study. It also found that women diagnosed with HPV16- or HPV18-positive cancers were an average of five years younger than those diagnosed with cancers associated with other HPV types. The HPV vaccine (Gardasil) protects against infections caused by HPV16 and HPV18, so the new findings may have implications for future cancer screening programs, the researchers said. The researchers analyzed U.S. data in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results registry and identified 1,213 cases of in situ cervical cancer diagnosed between 1980 and 1999, as well as 808 cases of invasive cervical cancer diagnosed between 1980 and 1999 in New Mexico. HPV16 DNA was found in 53.2 percent of invasive cervical cancers, HPV18 DNA was found in 13.1 percent, and HPV45 DNA in 6.1 percent. HPV16 DNA was found in 56.3 percent of in situ cervical cancers, HPV31 DNA in 12.6 percent, and HPV33 DNA in 8 percent. Patients' median age at diagnosis of invasive cancer with HPV16 and HPV18 was 48.1 years, and 45.9 years, respectively. Median age at diagnosis of invasive cancer with other HPV genotypes was 52.3 years. The study is in the March 24 online issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. "To our knowledge, this is the largest study of its kind conducted in a U.S. population," wrote a team [...]

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