One in 10 UK cancer cases could be prevented by vaccine

One in ten cases of cancer in Britain, and almost one in four around the world, could be prevented by vaccination, scientists say.

Viruses are known to play a role in the cause of cancers of the cervix, liver, nasal passages, certain types of lymphoma and rare forms of leukaemia.

Stomach cancer is also linked to a bacterial infection.

A report by the Cancer Research Campaign, published today, says it is not possible to catch cancer like a cold, but viruses can trigger the disease in combination with genetic and environmental effects.

In the case of cervical cancer, 99 per cent of sufferers have been infected by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a known trigger for the disease.

But around half the female population are carriers of the virus, which is sexually transmitted, and only 3,000 develop cervical cancer in the UK each year.

A vaccine for cervical cancer is under development and expected to be on the market next year.

Experts believe it could prevent around 70 per cent of cases of cervical cancer.

Dr Anne Szarewski, clinical consultant at Cancer Research UK, said: "The work we are doing on this vaccine is the most exciting development in cervical cancer research in many years. By using HPV vaccines we hope that, ultimately, we will be able to prevent the majority of cases."

"But there are still a number of unanswered questions. We don't know yet how long immunity will last, and if booster vaccines will be required. The longest period for which women have been followed up after an HPV vaccine trial has been four years."

A cervical cancer vaccine could ultimately end the need for cervical smears which cause women discomfort and anxiety.

However, it will be 20 to 30 years before the full cohort of sexually active women have received the vaccine and the cervical screening programme can be wound down.

A vaccine has also been developed for the Hepatitis B virus which is linked to liver cancer.

There are 340,000 cases of primary liver cancer worldwide - half of which are linked to the Hepatitis B virus.

There are 2,784 cases of this cancer in the UK each year but a much lower percentage of these are linked to the virus.

No vaccines have yet been developed to help combat stomach cancer, nasopharyngeal carcinoma and the lymphomas and leukaemias associated with infections.

Professor Alan Rickinson, from the Cancer Research UK Institute at the University of Birmingham and lead author of the report, said: "Studying the association between infectious agents and human cancers is extremely important because, in such cases, infection represents one defined link in the chain of events leading to cancer development.

"Knowing this helps us to trace other links in the chain and to understand how the whole chain fits together.

More importantly, if we can break the chain by preventing the infection through vaccination, then we can prevent the cancer developing." Professor John Toy, medical director of Cancer Research UK, said: "It is very important that people understand they cannot catch cancer in the way they can catch a cold or flu virus."

"As today we successfully vaccinate against infectious diseases so we shall soon be able to vaccinate against certain types of cancer."

- INDEPENDENT