London University Study on oral HPV

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    London University Study on oral HPV

  • IRAS ID

    180103

  • Contact name

    Karly Louie

  • Contact email

    k.louie@qmul.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    Queen Mary University of London

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    1 years, 0 months, 1 days

  • Research summary

    The purpose of this study is to find out how common human papillomavirus (HPV) is in the mouth of young women and men and to find out whether the HPV vaccine (or cervical cancer vaccine) also protects against HPV infection in the mouth in young women.

    The HPV virus is very common and is easily spread by sexual activity. Over 80% of sexually active people will come into contact with HPV in their lifetime. HPV infects both women and men. HPV usually causes no symptoms and the majority of infections (9 out of 10) go away by themselves with no treatment or problems. However, sometimes HPV can cause genital warts or serious illnesses like cervical cancer.

    HPV infection can sometimes be found in the mouth. However, most people who have come into contact with HPV in the mouth are unaware that they have it and it doesn’t cause any problems. Very little is understood about HPV infection in the mouth and what it might mean for people’s health in the long term. For example, it is now known that HPV infection plays a role in throat cancer, which is a rare cancer.

    Since 2008, all girls aged 12 to 13 years are offered the HPV vaccine that protects against cervical cancer. It’s usually given to girls in Year 8 at school in England. Besides cervical cancer, the vaccine may also have an added benefit to protect against HPV infection in the mouth and subsequent throat cancer. Currently, we don’t know whether the vaccine protects against HPV infection in the mouth.

    The study will help improve our understanding about how common HPV in the mouth is in young women and men and find out whether the vaccine will prevent against HPV infection in the mouth in women.

  • REC name

    London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    15/LO/1421

  • Date of REC Opinion

    15 Sep 2015

  • REC opinion

    Favourable Opinion