HPV vaccine may protect against breast cancer

The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is believed to be the most significant cause of cervical cancer, and to reduce the risk of cervical cancer, there is a Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine that is used for the people at high risk of developing cervical cancer. However, researches have known for some time from analysis of cancerous breast cells that strains of HPV have been found; it's just that there has been no medical confirmation that indeed, there is a causal link between the HPV and breast cancer. However, in a recent study, the link was much clearer based on genetic analysis of cancerous cells; and if this link can be made more clear (past studies have run the risk of contamination of the study material), then there is a brighter chance of the use of the HPV vaccine to protect women who have an enhanced risk (link to article):

Researchers at the University of New South Wales used genetic probes to test cancerous breast cells, and found several strains of HPVs, which are known to have a high risk of initiating cancer of the cervix. HPV has a causal role in 90-95 per cent of cervical cancers. "The finding that high risk HPV is present in a significant number of breast cancers indicates they may have a causal role in many breast cancers. Confirming a cancer-causing role for HPV in some breast cancers establishes the possibility of preventing some breast cancers by vaccination against HPV," said Dr Noel Whitaker, a co-author of the new report.

If indeed further research establishes a much clearer causal link, then the lives of a percentage of people who die from breast cancer can be saved.

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Cancer research: Virus that causes cervical cancer also causes penile cancer

Not too many people have heard of penile cancer, that is, cancer that affects the penis; and it is rare, with only around 1% of total cancer cases in the United States and Europe being those of penile cancer. The cancer can cause mutilations, and affects a higher number (upto 10% of all cancer patients) in certain parts of Africa and Asia. Penile cancer starts at the tip (also called the glans) of the penis, and spreads from there. Some of the common symptons of penile cancer include:
* A wart-like growth or lesion
* An open sore that won't heal
* A reddish rash
* Persistent, smelly discharge under the foreskin
The good news is that research has establised that the virus that causes cervical cancer also causes at least half of penile cancer cases, and hence, the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, used against cervical cancer, can also be used against penile cancers (link to article):

Dr. Silvia de Sanjose and colleagues reviewed cases of penile cancer reported in clinical studies between 1986 and 2008 and found 46.9 percent of tumors were associated with HPV.
Nearly all of these were linked to HPV strains 16 and 18, the two types that most commonly cause cervical cancer and which are targeted by Gardasil and Cervarix, they wrote in the Journal of Clinical Pathology.
Merck reported results of a clinical trial last November showing that Gardasil was effective in preventing lesions caused by the virus in men.

Finding that an existing medicine can be used in the fight against cancer is always great news.

Cancer research: Blueberry leaves can help stop Hepatitis C Virus

Hepatitis C is an infectious disease affecting the liver, caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). In some cases, those with cirrhosis will go on to develop liver failure or other complications of cirrhosis, including liver cancer. An estimated 270-300 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis C. Hepatitis C is a strictly human disease. No vaccine against hepatitis C is available. This virus was first isolated in 1989, and hence is a relatively new virus. It is to find vaccines that can reduce the number of people infected by preventing high risk people from getting the virus that research is targeting. There is one research that seems to have found a chemical that can stop the virus (link to article):

Hiroaki Kataoka and colleagues at the University of Miyazaki (U-M) in Japan believed that since HCV is localised in the liver and can take 20 years or more to develop into disease, a dietary supplement might help slow or stop disease progression.
So they screened nearly 300 different agricultural products for potential compounds that suppress HCV replication and uncovered a strong candidate in the leaves of rabbit-eye blueberry (native to the southeastern US). They purified the compound and identified it as proanthocyandin (a polyphenol similar to the beneficial chemicals found in grapes and wine). While proanthocyandin can be harmful, Kataoka and colleagues noted its effective concentration against HCV was 100 times less than the toxic threshold, said a U-M statement.

All such research eventually suceeds when these chemicals succeed in their trials and are rendered fit to be used in humans.