Immune-related gene may predispose to HPV-related cancer
Source: bcm.eduAuthor: Julia Parsons An international coalition of cancer specialists led by a researcher now at Baylor College of Medicine has identified an immune related gene called transforming growth factor beta receptor 1 (TGFBR1) that appears to play an important role in determining whether a person develops a cancer related to human papilloma virus (HPV). HPV is, in particular, associated with anal cancer and cancers of the cervix, and the head and neck. Their findings appear in the journal Cancer Research. Until recently, head and neck cancer has been found primarily in smokers, but there has been a rise in HPV-associated head and neck cancer in nonsmokers. The head and neck cancer most-associated with HPV is oropharyngeal cancer, involving the tonsils and base of the tongue. HPV is also one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases, with certain strains known to cause head and neck and/or cervical cancer. The National Cancer Institute predicts that HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer will likely surpass cervical cancer as the most common HPV-associated cancer in the United States by 2020. “The real mystery is that in western countries, pretty much everyone is exposed to HPV but only a small number of people get HPV-related cancers,” said Dr. Andrew Sikora, vice-chair for research in the Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at Baylor. “We are trying to figure out what makes the people who actually get the cancer different from those who don’t, given that so many people are exposed.” Using data collected as part of [...]