HPV, sexual behaviour and carcinoma of the mouth and throat
Research type
Research Study
Full title
HPV, sexual behaviour and carcinoma of the mouth and throat; are they related?
IRAS ID
148771
Contact name
Edina Chiriseri
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Northampton Hospital
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Research summary
The research aims to investigate whether HPV, sexual behaviour and carcinoma of the mouth and throat are related in some way. Recent science studies on these topics are suggesting that there could be a link between sexual habits and the increase of carcinomas of the mouth and throat. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC)of the the mouth and throat was known to be associated more with individuals that smoke and drink. However, it has been noticed that though the trend in smoking is reducing due to government initiatives the number of people diagnosed with SCC is increasing. Furthermore, the newly diagnosed individuals usually are less than 45 years of age. This research aims to address this question by going back and collecting stored tissue samples from patients of all age groups that have been diagnosed with SCC of the mouth and throat in the past few years. These samples will then be tested for HPV. Furthermore, data will be collected from patients attending the sexualhealth clinic at NGH. The information collected will include sexual habits, history of vaccination to HPV, circumcision, age, e.t.c. The information obtained from testing for HPV in the biopsies will shed light on whether HPV is responsible for the rise in the carcinomas of the head and neck regions and whether the HPV types are similar to those causing cervical cancer. Information form the sexual health clinic reveal any differences in sexual habits between the different age groups.If there are, could the differences be accounting for the observed increase of carcinomas in the younger generation. When that is established, the research will try and assess whether vaccination is having any impact in reducing the number of HPV positive carcinomas. In addition, it will be of interest to identify whether circumcision helps in reducing the transmission of HPV among individuals.
REC name
North West - Preston Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/NW/1254
Date of REC Opinion
20 Aug 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion