HPV virus behind third of throat cancer cases

Human papillomavirus may be behind a third of all throat cancers, suggesting that the HPV vaccine may provide patients with protection from the disease, a new Oxford study has found.
The new findings come just a month after Basic Instinct star Michael Douglas reported to have spoken about the link after his own diagnosis with throat cancer.
Experts said the research which quantifies the link, showed "striking" results, BBC News reported.
HPV is the major cause of cervical cancer, and is known to spread through genital or oral contact.
The study looked at HPV's link with cancer of the back of the throat - oropharyngeal cancer. It looked at blood test results collected from people who took part in a huge prospective study into lifestyle and cancer, who were all healthy at the start.

Researchers were able to check for the presence of antibodies to one of HPV's key proteins - E6 that knocks out part of cells' protection system, which should prevent cancer developing.

Having the antibodies means HPV has already overcome that defence and caused cancerous changes in cells, the report said.
The study compared blood test results - some more than 10 years old - for 135 people who went on to develop throat cancer and for 1,599 cancer-free people.
Researchers at the University of Oxford found 35 per cent of those with throat cancer had the antibodies, compared with fewer than 1 per cent of those who were cancer-free.

The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.