Towards eradication of cancer-causing Human Papillomaviruses

The aim is an increased understanding of how cancer-causing Human Papillomaviruses (HPV) can optimally be eradicated and the associated cancers eliminated.

Within an international reference laboratory for HPV, we establish uniform quality requirements for detection and classification of HPV.

This is a prerequisite for continued research on HPV types, for the use of HPV-testing in organized screening and for monitoring and optimization of HPV vaccination programs.

We previously determined the oncogenic potential of all HPV types found in cervical cancer cases in Sweden and we will now model which detection of HPV types that provides an optimal balance between benefits and harms of cervical screening.

We will also identify which vaccine-induced serum antibody level that is required to protect HPV-vaccinated women against cancer, important for development of HPV vaccines.

Finally, we wish to investigate whether cervical cancer elimination can be accelerated using a combination of more efficient HPV vaccination strategies and an improved screening effort.