Source: www.canceraids.org
Author: staff

Professor Vivien Chen, PhD,. Associate Professor Xiao Cheng Wu, MD, PhD and Assistant Professor Edward Peters, DMD, SM, ScD, at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Public Health contributed five papers to the largest most comprehensive assessment of the burden of human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers in the United States to date. The report, “Assessing the Burden of Human Papillomavirus (HPV)-Associated Cancers in the United States (ABHACUS),” is available now online and will be published in the November 15, 2008 supplement to the journal Cancer.

The publication reports that 25,000 cases of HPV-associated cancers were diagnosed in 38 states and the District of Columbia from 1998-2003. These include cancers of the cervix, vagina, vulva, penis, anus, oral cavity and oropharynx. Human papillomaviruses comprise about 100 different types, more than 30 of which are sexually transmitted. As the data were collected prior to the development of the HPV vaccine, they will provide baseline incidence rates to determine the effectiveness of the vaccine as well as cervical cancer screening programs in reducing the incidence of HPV-associated cancers and precancers.

The most comprehensive analysis studied data from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) cancer registries, including the Louisiana Tumor Registry at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, and the Centers for Disease Control’s National Program of Cancer Registries.

The papers on which the LSUHSC public health faculty are co-authors are Incidence of in situ and invasive vulvar cancer in the US, 1998-2003 (p 2865-2872), Descriptive epidemiology of vaginal cancer incidence and survival by race, ethnicity, and age in the United States (p 2873-2882), Understanding the burden of human papillomavirus-associated anal cancers in the US (p 2892-2900), Burden of potentially human papillomavirus-associated cancers of the oropharynx and oral cavity in the US, 1998-2003 (p 2901-2909), and Cancer registries and monitoring the impact of prophylactic human papillomavirus vaccines: The potential role (p 3047-3057).

“The Louisiana Tumor Registry, housed in the LSUHSC School of Public health, has the academic infrastructure and expertise to monitor and evaluate the impact of HPV vaccination on the community,” notes Vivien W. Chen, PhD, Director of Louisiana Tumor Registry at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Public Health.

“Incidence and mortality rates among African American women in Louisiana are significantly higher than both the rates of Louisiana white women and other African American women in the United States,” said Xiao Cheng Wu, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Public Health and Associate Director of the Louisiana Tumor Registry at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans. “This observed black-white disparity can be reduced by equal access to and utilization of HPV vaccination.”

“As the Principal Investigator of two CDC funded projects in LA to examine the impact on cancer after introduction of the HPV vaccine I expect we will observe a decrease in HPV related cancers such as cervical and oral cancer,” said Edward Peters, DMD, ScD, Assistant Professor of Public Health at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans. “For example, about a third of oral cancers are due to HPV infection (the rest due to smoking and drinking) and oral cancers are twice as common in men than women. However, we currently do not vaccinate boys against HPV. We have tremendous opportunity to increase the level of cancer prevention for HPV associated cancers if our current HPV vaccination recommendations expand to include boys and young men .”

Source:
1. LSUHSC Public Health Contributes To Estimate Of HPV-Related Cancers

Source: ww.xtra.ca
Author: Andrew Innis

The Nobel Prize winning pioneer of human papilloma virus (HPV) research is calling for the vaccination of boys against HPV.

Speaking at the MaRS Centre in Toronto on Oct 21, Dr Harald zur Hausen argued that vaccination against the viruses, which can lead to cervical cancer in women, is also important to men since they too are susceptible to developing cancers related to HPV.

Zur Hausen said men, like women, need to be protected from the more dangerous strains of the virus, HPV-16 and -18, which can contribute to the development of anal and penile cancer.

The announcement came hours before the release of a report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which confirmed that after two years of clinical usage Gardasil remains safe for human use, citing no elevated risk for neurological complications. The vaccine was approved for use in both Canada and the United States two years ago.

Philippe Brideau, media relations officer for Public Health Agency Canada, said Gardasil has been found to be, “effective and the vaccine is safe, and should be used.” He said there have been no major reactions reported.

Health Canada estimates nearly 75 percent of sexually active men and women will be infected with HPV at least once in their lifetime. While most strains of the virus are of little danger, mainly producing genital warts, it can lead to the development of cancer in both males and females.

Men who have sex with men are at even higher risk, according to studies by the CDC that claim gay and bisexual men may be up to 17 times more likely to develop anal cancer than heterosexual men.

There is also an increased risk of developing cancers of the throat. A 2007 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found a link between the presence of HPV and a development of oropharyngeal cancer, showing those with HPV had a 32 times higher risk of development.

Most people will eventually eliminate HPV from their body, but those who are HIV-positive or have a compromised immune system are at a greater risk from the virus, making treatment for things like genital warts more difficult.

But the HPV vaccine is not approved for use in males, though Merck, the manufacturer, is holding clinical trials to determine the effectiveness of Gardasil on men.

Sheila Murphy, a spokesperson for Merck, said she is hopeful that preliminary data for the study will be available soon.

“There is going to be a [peer reviewed] meeting in Europe in November, and I was hoping there would be some data presented there, and I still haven’t heard weather that is going to be the case or not,” Murphy said on Oct 27.

When asked if the study could become bogged down by bureaucracy, Murphy was clear that public interest was high.

“We’re talking about a vaccine that prevents cancer, and that will prevent cancer in men… so there’s no question,” she says.

“People are waiting for these results, people like yourselves are clamouring for them.”

But even after the release of preliminary data from the female study, Murphy said it took, “another two years before we had approval of the vaccine, so I would imagine we’re another two or three years away.”

Other countries have allowed boys to be given the vaccine, she said, based on the initial studies on Gardasil. “In Canada… they want us to do the efficacy studies, to show in fact that the vaccine, not only does it cause an immune response recognition, but it actually prevents a disease.”