04/28/08

UNITED STATES:  Study Links HPV to Lung Cancer

Human papillomavirus has long been linked to cancers of the sex organs, particularly the cervix. More recently, scientists have found connections between HPV and cancers of the mouth and throat. Now comes word from a new study that the STD may be associated with lung cancer as well.

Dr. Arash Rezazadeh of the University of Louisville presented his team's findings last week at the First European Lung Cancer Conference in Geneva. In an examination of 23 lung cancer samples, "The researchers found six samples that tested positive for the presence of [HPV], the virus that also causes many cases of cervical cancer. One was later shown to be a cervical cancer that had spread to the lungs," said a statement issued by the conference.

Smoking remains the chief risk factor for the development of lung cancer, and all the samples studied came from smokers. However, "the fact that five out of 22 non-small-cell lung cancer samples were HPV-positive supports the assumption that HPV contributes to the development of non-small-cell lung cancer," said the statement.

While this is the first research to track the combined impact of smoking and HPV on the lungs, doctors have known for some time that female smokers who acquire HPV are more likely than nonsmokers to develop cervical cancer, according to Dr. Lauren F. Streicher, an OB/GYN and a professor at Northwestern Medical School. "Seventy to 80 percent of women are exposed to HPV, but less than 1 percent of women get cervical cancer. We know lesions on the cervix are more likely to become cancerous in smokers," she said.

The study did not address whether Gardasil, the HPV vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration, might be effective against lung cancer. However, the HPV type - 16 - found in the lung cancer samples is among those targeted by the vaccine. "Type 16 is the one that causes cancer," Streicher said. "As more of these studies are completed, we're learning that the vaccine would clearly be preventive in many different kinds of cancers, not just cervical."

Source: ABC News:: Russell Goldman; Courtesy of the CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention