Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine Effectiveness and Potential Herd Immunity for Reducing Oncogenic Oropharyngeal HPV-16 Prevalence in the United Kingdom: A Cross-sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Oropharyngeal cancer incidence is rapidly rising due to human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 infection. The dearth of data on effectiveness of national female-only vaccination programs in preventing oral HPV infection and potential herd immunity in unvaccinated males has resulted in considerable controversy regarding the need to vaccinate males, especially in countries with high female vaccination coverage. METHODS: Subjects aged 0-65 years undergoing tonsillectomy for nonmalignant indications were recruited in 6 hospitals in the United Kingdom. Oral samples were collected as follows: oral rinse, tongue base, and pharyngeal wall brushes, then tonsil tissue (tonsillectomy). Vaccination data were obtained from regional health authorities. All samples were centrally tested for HPV DNA by polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Of 940 subjects, 243 females and 69 males were aged 12-24 years (median age, 18.6 years), with 189 (78%) females and no males vaccinated against HPV. Overall, oropharyngeal HPV-16 prevalence was significantly lower in vaccinated versus unvaccinated females (0.5% vs 5.6%, P = .04). In contrast, prevalence of any oropharyngeal HPV type was similar in vaccinated and unvaccinated females (19% vs 20%, P = .76). Oropharyngeal HPV-16 prevalence in unvaccinated males was similar to vaccinated females (0% vs 0.5%, P > .99), and lower than unvaccinated females (0% vs 5.6%, P = .08). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that the UK female-only vaccination program is associated with significant reductions in oropharyngeal HPV-16 infections. These are also the first data to suggest potential herd immunity from female-only vaccination against oropharyngeal HPV infection in contemporaneously aged males.

Vibrational spectroscopy: a clinical tool for cancer diagnostics.

Vibrational spectroscopy techniques have demonstrated potential to provide non-destructive, rapid, clinically relevant diagnostic information. Early detection is the most important factor in the prevention of cancer. Raman and infrared spectroscopy enable the biochemical signatures from biological tissues to be extracted and analysed. In conjunction with advanced chemometrics such measurements can contribute to the diagnostic assessment of biological material. This paper also illustrates the complementary advantage of using Raman and FTIR spectroscopy technologies together. Clinical requirements are increasingly met by technological developments which show promise to become a clinical reality. This review summarises recent advances in vibrational spectroscopy and their impact on the diagnosis of cancer.

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic studies of T-cell lymphoma, B-cell lymphoid and myeloid leukaemia cell lines.

This paper presents Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy to characterise spectral differences that distinguish cells derived from human T-cell lymphoma, B-cell lymphoid, and myeloid leukaemia cell lines. This methodology is based on spectral measurements of major cellular biochemical constituents and multivariate spectral processing. Major spectral differences were observed in the 1800-900 cm(-1) 'fingerprint' spectral region. Bands in the averaged spectra for each cell line were assigned to major biochemical constituents including: proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and nucleic acids. Multivariate statistical analysis of the spectra was carried out to develop a classification model to discriminate the five cell types. The results show that FT-IR spectroscopy displays high sensitivity and specificity when discriminating between T-cell lymphoma, B-cell lymphoid, and myeloid leukaemia cells based on intrinsic biomolecular signatures. FT-IR spectroscopy in combination with multivariate statistical analysis provides an important insight into T-cell lymphoma, B-cell lymphoid, and myeloid leukaemia cell line identification. In conclusion, this paper demonstrates a potential for this technique to be used in developing a clinical tool for the detection and identification of haematological malignancies.