Cervical Cancer vaccination could also prevent throat cancer, study finds

A vaccine intended to be used as a preventative against cervical cancer could also help to protect women against throat cancers that have been linked to performing oral sex, according to new research. A new study has found that the human papillomavirus vaccine could be used as a treatment to prevent throat cancer in women and possibly men.

The rates of throat cancer have increased over the last three decades, especially within middle-aged, heterosexual males. A large proportion of throat cancer cases, around 70 per cent, can be linked to sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Although there has been some speculation that the cervical cancer vaccine could help prevent throat cancer caused by STIs, there has not been any evidence, until recently, to support this claim.

The study focussed on the vaccination Cervarix, which is produced by GlaxoSmithKline. It found that the vaccination provided around 93 per cent protection against both kinds of human papillomavirus. Both types of this virus have been found to cause the majority of human cancers.

The study involved 5,840 women aged between 18 and 25 in Costa Rica, each of the women were sexually active when the trial began. The women gave a sample of gargle mouthwash four years after receiving either the vaccine or a placebo injection. The mouthwash picked up cells from deep in the throat, allowing for analysis. Of the women who had received the vaccination, one had become infected with the HPV16 or HPV18 viruses. Of the women who had received placebo vaccinations, 15 had become infected with the cancer-causing viruses.

No men were enrolled in this initial study as it was originally only focusing upon the ability of the vaccine to prevent cervical cancer. Whilst it has been suggested that the vaccine would also work in men to prevent the viruses, further testing would be required. It was also not known whether any women initially carried the virus as they only gave one throat sample.

The majority of people that contract the human papillomavirus end up clearing the virus up through their own immune system, with only four per cent of people that carry it developing cancer. The women found to be carrying the virus at the end of the study had carried it for too short a period for it to develop into a cancer, as that could take up to 20 years.