14 DAY TRIAL // HPV (human papilloma virus) is transmitted through vaginal, oral and anal sex. In the US, HPV is involved in over 95 % of cervical cancers.
This has been also linked to cancers of the larynx, tonsil and skin, as well as malignancies of the vulva, vagina, penis, anus and mouth.
Now, a study links it to breast cancer. Younger women with breast cancer were more likely to present HPV infection than older women were, as they are more prone to this infection. "These data are compatible with the hypothesis that HPV-positive breast cancers occur in younger women than those with HPV-negative breast cancers, and that high-risk HPVs may have been transmitted by sexual activity with HPV-positive sexual partners," reports the research team in the British Journal of Cancer.
Other experts think more research is required. "At present a link with breast cancer would be highly speculative, but worth further investigation. It seems to me that the virus may well be harmless residents rather than having a causative relationship," said Professor Alan Rickinson, cancer virus specialist at Birmingham University.
HPV encompasses over 100 virus strains, inflicting various conditions. These viruses do not provoke cancers on their own, but they are the triggers, perhaps by interacting with the estrogen.
The team at the University of New South Wales has reported the new findings based on the DNA taken from 50 samples of breast cancer from Australian women.
About 50 % were HPV positive. "HPV may have a role in human breast cancer. We speculate that HPVs may be transmitted by hand from the female perineum to the breast," they said. "The strength of the link between HPVs and breast cancer is substantial but not conclusive," said lead author Professor Jim Lawson.
Another recent research linked HPV to tonsil, esophagus, urogenital and perianal tumors. "For human papilloma virus 16, data show a causal role in cancer of the vulva, vagina, penis, anus, oral cavity, and oropharynx, and some association with cancer of the larynx and periungual skin," said a report on HPV from the International Agency for Research on Cancer.