Breakthrough against chronic genital infection with HPV16 virus

Stimulation of the immune system can help combat a chronic infection by the human papilloma virus. This is the outcome of research by the Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC) recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Pre-malignant stage

The twenty women who took part in the study were infected with the Human Papilloma Virus type 16 (HPV16). The virus had caused them to develop vulval intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN), a pre-malignancy of the vulva. VIN is characterised by itching, pain, swelling and lesions, and is currently generally treated with surgery.  

Human papillomavirus

Remarkable improvement

The patients suffering from VIN were given four injections with peptides of HPV16. Twelve months after the last injection, in 79% of cases, the condition had improved. In the case of nine women, all the irregularities caused by HPV16 had completely disappeared; for four of the five women who were tested to see if they still showed traces of the virus, no traces were found. Professor Kees Melief, Professor of Immunohaemotology at the LUMC: 'When people have been infected with HPV16 for a long time, their immune system no longer reacts adequately to the virus. By introducing selected protein fragments (synthetic long peptides, SLP) of the virus, the immune system is reactivated.'

First step towards a remedy

The treatment is also referred to as a therapeutic vaccine and is used to treat an illness. The SLP concept was developed by Professor Kees Melief and Dr Sjoerd van der Burg in the LUMC, in partnership with ISA Pharmaceuticals B.V. The clinical study was carried out in close collaboration with Professor Gemma Kenter of the LUMC. The study has now been published and represents a first step on the way to a registered medication. Registration is necessary to make the treatment widely available. This process will take some time.

Effectiveness against cervical cancer unknown

The effectiveness of the therapeutic SLP vaccine, as described for the above-mentioned VIP patients, is not known for patients with cervical cancer. This is currently under investigation. In the case of cervical cancer, roughly half of cases are caused by the HPV16 virus. In the case of VIN, this is 70 to 80 per cent. The preventative HPV vaccine against cervical cancer, with which girls were first vaccinated at the start of 2009 is a different type of vaccine and has a therapeutic effect in women who are already infected with HPV. It is used to prevent cervical cancer caused by HPV.  

In addition to the funding from ISA, this research is also financed by the EU and the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF). 

Links
- The complete article in the New England Journal of Medicine
- Professor Kees Melief won the Science and Society prize in 2006 with this research (Newsletter, 7 November 2006)

(11 November 2006)