HPV tied to higher esophageal cancer risk

A new review of previous research links infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) to a three-fold greater chance of oesophageal cancer.

"This doesn`t mean it is present in all (oesophageal cancers), but it may be a factor in a certain proportion of cases," said  the study`s lead author.

HPV is a very common sexually transmitted virus that is known to cause cervical cancer, anal cancer and some cancers of the reproductive organs and the upper throat.

The author said there`s been a lot of debate among researchers about the role of HPV in cancer of the oesophagus because most of the studies to date have been small and used disparate methods that make them hard to compare.
Worldwide, esophageal cancer is the eighth most common cancer and responsible for some 400,000 deaths a year, according to World Health Organization data.

To get a better handle on the relationship between HPV and oesophageal cancer,the researchers gathered results from all of the studies that have compared patients with the cancer to people without it.

The studies focused on oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma, one type of oesophageal cancer that affects the lining of the oesophagus.

In each study, oesophagus tissue samples from cancer patients and from patients without the cancer were examined to see if HPV was present.

The 21 studies the group analysand included 1,223 people with oesophageal cancer and 1,415 people without cancer.

HPV was found in the oesophagus tissue of 35 percent of the cancer patients, compared to 27 percent of the people without oesophagus cancer.

Taken together, the studies link HPV infection of oesophageal tissue to a three-fold greater risk of oesophagus cancer, the researchers reported .

If the general population`s rate of oesophagus cancer is 4.4 out of every 100,000 people, a three-fold risk increase would raise those chances to 13.2 out of every 100,000.

Two vaccines, Cervarix and Gardasil, have been developed to prevent infection with HPV.If HPV indeed causes oesophageal cancer - and that remains to be determined - it`s possible that the vaccines could help prevent the cancer, the researcher said.

"However, this needs to be studied further. The benefits of cancer-preventing vaccines are not seen immediately, but after many years following vaccination," the Dr. wrote in an email.The Dr. said there are also other ways to reduce the risk of developing oesophageal cancer, including avoiding smoking and excessive drinking.

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