Dolphins 'may provide key to cervical cancer treatment'
The key to formulating new treatments for cervical cancer and testing their efficacy may lie with dolphins, it has been claimed.
After testing samples from dolphins, University of Florida's (UF's) aquatic animal health experts have said that the mammals may be the "ideal model" for the study of cervical cancer in people.
Hendrik Nollens, a marine mammal biologist and clinical assistant professor at UF's College of Veterinary Medicine, told the annual meeting of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science that there is a clear link.
"We discovered that dolphins get multiple infections of papillomaviruses, which are known to be linked with cervical cancer in women. Dolphins are the only species besides humans that we know of that can harbour coinfections, or infections of multiple papillomavirus types, in the genital mucosa," he said.
The expert pointed out that there are over 100 types of human papillomaviruses (HPVs), and multiple infections of up to eight HPV types have been reported in people.
According to the specialist, some virus groups have shown the ability to cross the marine-terrestrial ecosystem boundary from sea to land, which came as a big surprise to investigators.
"Why do people develop the disease, but dolphins don't? If we can figure out why, the human medical community might be very interested in how that information might be applied to human strategies for preventing the disease," Professor Nollens stated.
The expert added that the research process has enabled specialists to better understand the disease and how it has been caused and this can in turn lead to the formulation of better remedies and preventive treatments.
Posted by Stephen Tate
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