Human Papillomavirus Is Associated With The Development Of Skin Cancer. Part 1 of 3

Human Papillomavirus Is Associated With The Development Of Skin Cancer. The ubiquitous virus linked to cervical, vaginal and throat cancers may also escalate the jeopardize of developing squamous cell carcinoma, the second most common form of skin cancer, a new study suggests. The risk from human papillomavirus (HPV) seen in a new writing-room was even higher if people are taking drugs such as glucocorticoids to suppress the immune system, according to new research by an international team led by Dr Margaret Karagas of Dartmouth Medical School in Lebanon, NH.

But all of this does not willy-nilly mean that HPV causes squamous cell carcinoma, one expert said. “That’s a fairly big leap to me,” said Dr Stephen Mandy, a member of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery and clinical professor of dermatology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. “It’s quite possible that people with high titers blood levels of HPV antibodies also have hide cancer for other reasons”.

There are vaccines already in use (such as Gardasil) that protect against the HPV strains that cause cervical cancer. But experts said that, given that there are more than 100 types of HPV, vaccines’ shielding ability is unlikely to translate to another disease.

And “Does this mean if patients got the HPV vaccine they would be immune to squamous cell carcinoma? Probably not. I think it’s a great curiosity but it’s devastating to define”. Experts have already unearthed a link between HPV and skin cancer in patients who have had organ transplants (and are thus taking immunosuppressive drugs) and people with a rare genetic skin condition called epidermodysplasia verruciformis, who seem to be unusually gullible to infection with HPV.

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