Update on a potentially ground-breaking new project funded by Clifford Craig Medical Research Trust

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the causal factor in over 90% of cases of cervical cancer. In fact, the association between cervical cancer and HPV is the strongest seen between a virus and a malignancy. By looking at studies of the relationship between HPV and cervical cancer, a pattern for HPV-mediated cancer forming in other organs has emerged. There is now a substantial body of evidence for a plausible role for HPV in causing a certain type of cancer (squamous cell) of the oesophagus and throat. The oesophagus connects the mouth to the stomach and this study is highly relevant as more than 1,100 Australians are diagnosed with oesophageal cancer each year.

Many reports have documented genes belonging to HPV being found in this type of oesophageal cancer. The E6 and E7 cancer-causing proteins from the high-risk strains of HPV destroy the cell cycle and other regulatory pathways in a person’s tissue. This is why these proteins are excellent candidates for finding treatment strategies against HPV-associated malignancies.

The research team in Launceston headed by Associate Professor Shan Rajendra are currently exploring the view that there is a role for HPV in other forms of oesophageal cancer: glandular form (adenocarcinoma) and its precancerous tissue (known as Barrett’s oesophagus). They postulate this on the basis of a shared immunology and genetic changes in cancer of both the cervix and the oesophagus. They hypothesise that HPV might initiate the process of development of oesophageal adenocarcinoma in patients who have been made susceptible to this by stomach acid reflux irritation.

If this is proven right, then this work truly represents ground-breaking work which offers the enticing possibility of vaccinating against oesophageal cancer.