- February 26, 2014
- Posted by: Spotscreen
- Category: News
Scientists from Germany have discovered that a new human papillomaviruses (HPV) vaccine can protect mice against non-melanoma skin cancers.
Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is considered to be the main cause of non-melanoma skin cancer, which includes basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. However scientists also suspect that non-melanoma skin cancer can be caused by simultaneous infection with specific types of human papillomaviruses (HPV) in patients who have received organ transplants.
Whether a simultaneous infection with papillomaviruses increases the risk of a tumor has not yet been scientifically ascertained. “But the link seemed obvious to us,” says Professor Frank Rösl, head of the current study. “Since sunlight contains UV radiation and one cannot completely avoid contact with it, our approach was to develop a vaccination against types of HPV found in the skin.”
In their research scientists used a species of mouse which by its nature is already infected with papillomaviruses. This virus can cause symptoms such as warts and benign tumors in the skin – echoing the behavior of some HPV types in humans. “The viruses are very much alike,” says Dr. Sabrina E. Vinzón, first author of the study. “In both humans and in mice, non-melanoma skin cancer can develop from the tumors. Thus our aim was to develop a vaccine against papillomaviruses in these mice to see whether we could protect the animals from skin tumors.”
