Study Links HPV to Lung Cancer

April 28, 2008— -- A newly published study links the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, or HPV, to lung cancer, adding lungs to the list of organs scientists say are susceptible to cancer as a result of contracting the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States.

Recent studies have found connections between HPV and cancers of the mouth and throat, but the University of Louisville study released late last week is the first to associate the infection with lung cancer.

HPV has long been known to result in cancers of the sex organs, particularly the cervix, and a vaccine targeting young women and girls was introduced in the United States in 2006.

Conservative parents and activists have condemned the vaccine, marketed under the name Gardasil, since it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration last year, claiming it would -- like easily available condoms -- encourage young people to engage in promiscuous sex.

Those same parents and groups say the news showing a link between the virus and lung cancer, which means it could affect not only their daughters but also their sons, does not change their opposition to the drug.

At a conference this week in Geneva, Dr. Arash Rezazadeh from the University of Louisville presented the findings of the study, which found HPV in six out of 23 lung cancer samples.

"The researchers found six samples that tested positive for the presence of human papillomavirus, the virus that also causes many cases of cervical cancer. One was later shown to be a cervical cancer that had spread to the lungs," read a statement from the First European Lung Cancer Conference.

All the samples came from smokers, and authors of the study said smoking remains the most important factor in the development of lung cancer. But "the fact that five out of 22 non-small-cell lung cancer samples were HPV-positive supports the assumption that HPV contributes to the development of non-small-cell lung cancer," they said.

"We think HPV has a role as a co-carcinogen which increases the risk of cancer in a smoking population," Rezazadeh said in a statement.