![]() ![]() HPV is spread sexually through genital skin contact. While HPV-16 primarily is known to cause cervical cancer, HPV-16 is also associated with oral cancers due to HPV transmission through oral sex. Current research correlates HPV infections with an increase in oral cancers, supported by prevalence of HPV-16 DNA in throat cancer tumors. Scientists have linked other HPV strains, such as HPV-31, HPV-33, and HPV-35, to cervical cancer. Researchers have identified over 150 types of HPV, linking multiple HPV types to HPV-related conditions of warts and cancerous tumors. By identifying more types of HPV and looking for their DNA in tumors, scientists built evidence that some strains of HPV caused cervical cancer and looked for solutions to prevent cervical cancer. From those results, zur Hausen concluded that HPV-6 and HPV-11 caused genital warts, not cancer, and HPV-16 and HPV-18 caused cervical cancer.įollowing zur Hausen's isolation HPV DNA and finding HPV strains 16 and 18 in cervical tumors, scientists began identifying more types of HPV. He discovered very little HPV-16 and HPV-18 DNA in the genital warts samples and a high prevalence of HPV-16 and HPV-18 DNA in the genital tumor samples. He then looked for the DNA of HPV strains 16 and 18 in both genital warts and genital tumor samples. Zur Hausen analyzed cervical tumor samples and found a low prevalence of HPV-6 and HPV-11, but noticed other HPV DNA in the cervical tumor samples that he identified as HPV strains 16 and 18. If HPV strains 6 and 11 from genital warts caused cancer, zur Hausen hypothesized that he would find those same strains in cervical tumor samples. ![]() In the samples, he first identified DNA from HPV strains 6 and 11, two common HPV types that cause genital warts. In his experiments, zur Hausen looked for HPV DNA in genital warts and tumor samples. Harald zur Hausen started his research on HPV after reviewing medical reports that discussed cases of HPV genital warts that progressed to cervical cancer in female patients, and in 1976, he published his hypothesis that HPV caused cervical cancer in the article, "Condylomata Acuminata and Human Genital Cancer. Pap smear samples showed one of the first observations of cancer in cervical cells. ![]() In 1928 in the US, physician George Papanikolaou developed early versions of the Pap smear test, a screening test that collects and analyzes cells scraped from the woman's cervix, as a diagnostic test primarily for cervical cancer. HPV and cervical cancer research started with the study of genital warts caused by sexually transmitted viruses with the idea that genital warts eventually led to genital cancers, primarily cervical cancer. By identifying the cancerous strains of HPV-16 and HPV-18 and utilizing preventative measures such as the Pap smear and HPV vaccines, scientists and doctors have reduced the rates of cervical cancer and other HPV-related cancers. Discovering HPV strains 16 and 18 allowed physicians to test for those cancer-causing cell populations using Pap smears, a diagnostic tool that collects cells from the woman's cervix to identify cancerous cases of HPV infection. and GlaxoSmithKline created HPV vaccines protecting against HPV-16 and HPV-18, which have reduced the number of HPV infections by fifty-six percent in the US. In the early twenty first century, pharmaceutical companies Merck & Co. In 19 in Germany, physician Harald zur Hausen found that two HPV strains, HPV-16 and HPV-18, caused cervical cancer in women. When left untreated, HPV leads to high risks of cervical, vaginal, vulvar, anal, and penile cancers. HPV is the most commonly sexually transmitted disease, resulting in more than fourteen million cases per year in the United States alone. The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) strains 16 and 18 are the two most common HPV strains that lead to cases of genital cancer. Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Strains 16 and 18 ![]()
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