Developing HPV virus-like particle vaccines to prevent cervical cancer: a progress report

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Abstract

Background: the knowledge that sexually transmitted infection with one of a limited number of human papillomaviruses (HPVs) is a central cause of almost all cervical cancers affords the opportunity to prevent this common cancer through anti-viral vaccination. Objective: the spectacular success of vaccines in preventing several other viral diseases offers hope that immunoprophylaxis against the relevant HPVs could lead to a major reduction in cervical cancer incidence. Results and conclusion: the results of preclinical studies and early phase clinical trials of virus-like particle (VLP) based subunit vaccines have been very encouraging. However, unique aspects of papillomavirus biology and genital tract infections, and the lack of sexual a transmission model for papillomavirus, make it far from certain that effective prophylactic vaccination against genital HPV infection will be easily achieved. Future clinical efficacy trials will likely test the hypothesis that parenteral injection of VLPs can induce antibody mediated and type specific protection against genital tract HPV infection and subsequent development of premalignant neoplastic disease.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to acknowledge the many contributions of our colleagues on our HPV vaccine team, especially those of Douglas Lowy, Clayton Harro, Susana Pang, Robin Robinson, Richard Roden, Ruth Karron and Mark Schiffman. We would especially like to thank Diana Pastrana and Susana Pang for providing the photographs used in the figures.

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