It is timely that a special issue focusing on human papillomavirus (HPV) be published, bringing together expertise in an area where rapid gains have been made recently, particularly in Australia. In fact, the observation for linking a sexually transmitted agent to cervical cancer began hundreds of years ago, when it was realised that Catholic nuns rarely suffered from this disease. 1,2 Subsequently, around 30 years ago now, and with the tools of molecular biology and sophisticated molecular epidemiological methods, oncogenic genotypes of HPV were proven to be the causative agent of cervical cancer. 3 Although HPV remains uncultivatable by traditional viral culture techniques, it is the first pathogen to be recognised as the causative agent in virtually 100% of cases of any solid cancer. Recognition for this discovery resulted in Professor Harold zur Hausen being awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology orMedicine 2008,bringing the idea that there could be effective vaccines against a cancer into the global public arenaworldwide. 4 Morespecifically,worldwideithasbeenshown thatofthe200HPV genotypes,types16and18, aremorevirulent than other HPVs consistently causing around 70% of all cervical cancers, as also reported for Australia. 5–7
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Garland et al. (2010) studied this question.