Courtesy of The Australian EMbassyIn medical revelations of the century, a cure for certain types of cancer has been an encouraging development.
But for some, it is not enough to stop there.
Ian Frazer, best known for his creation of the vaccine against some strains of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) that can cause cervical cancer and who recently came to Indonesia to hold dialogue with its medical industry, would like to see it better available in developing countries.
The World Health Organization WHO 2010 Human Papilloma Virus and Related Cancers Summary Report states that of the approximate 2.4 million women at risk of developing cervical cancer, 1.9 million or 79 percent are from the developing world.
“No one should die of cervical cancer,” Frazer said. “Cervical cancer is a preventable disease. The problem in the developing world is that health services are not readily available or limited.”
The Australian of the Year awardee and director of the University of Queensland’s Diamantina Institute for Cancer, Immunology and Metabolic Medicine visited Indonesia last week as part of an Australian government initiative to strengthen relationships with medical professionals in Indonesia to enhance cancer research.
“I am proud to welcome Professor Frazer to Indonesia,” said Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Greg Moriarty. “His work demonstrates the scientific excellence we have in Australia and I hope his efforts will inspire Indonesian researchers and medical scientists as well as strengthen research collaboration and people-to-people links with Australia.”
Research has come quite some way in the last 20 years following Frazer’s discovery that viruses can cause some cancers: The two most common being Hepatitis B that can develop into liver cancer and sexually transmitted HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18, the latter responsible for about 70 percent of all cervical cancer cases worldwide, according to WHO and for which Frazer developed a vaccine.
His contribution has the potential to lessen 5 percent of the cancer burden, and WHO also says there is more evidence HPV is a relevant factor in other anogenital cancers (anus, vulva, vagina and penis) and head and neck cancers.
He believes it is important to keep perspective concerning the virus, however. “People should not worry too much if they have HPV, the virus itself is common.”
Only for a minority — one of every 80 people — does the virus become cancerous, he says.
“When HPV becomes cancerous it becomes hard to tackle. But with the vaccine, we eliminate the chance of the virus becoming cancerous altogether,” he said on the possibility of the Indonesian government introducing a national cervical cancer screening and vaccination program for the second most common cancer in women around the world.
“The burden these deaths have on governments are significant, the Indonesian government will soon realize how important it is for the economy to minimize cervical cancer.”
Frazer was born in 1953 in Scotland into a medical family — his parents both medical scientists — and followed the same pursuit graduating with bachelors of science, medicine and surgery at the University of Edinburgh.
After emigrating to Australia in 1976, he began researching viral immunology and it was during this study he found that HPV appeared to trigger precancerous cells.
Using molecular biology, Frazer and his partner, virologist Jian Zhou, mimicked the HPV, which led him to form the HPV vaccine, marketed as Gardasil.
By 1998, now an Australian citizen, he had undertaken the first trials using Gardasil in his position as director of the Diamantina Institute. In 2006 Frazer was awarded the Australian of the Year for his breakthrough.
Five years later, he is still working tirelessly in cancer research and believes it is important to impart prevention knowledge where he can, such as the importance of having a Pap smear every two years, even if you have had the vaccine, as it only protects against sexually transmitted HPV strains 6, 11, 16 and 18.
Gardasil also does not treat existing infections and it is important women receive it between the ages of nine and 26 before it has the opportunity to develop into cancer, which can take around 10 years, according to the Australian government’s Department of Health and Ageing.
“Additionally, a Pap smear every two years is a sufficient measure to use to detect the virus so it can be tackled before it can become cancerous,” he said.
Frazer dismissed the belief that some women may contract HPV for “immoral” behavior. “It doesn’t matter what you have or have not done. Anyone can get this cancer.”
For other cancers such as breast, skin and brain cancer, no signs show that viruses are their cause, but Frazer has not yet ruled out this possibility. “We have not found the fingerprints of viruses in these cancer cells, but we have not obtained enough samples to make any conclusions yet.”
He also warns on misinformation. “People say ‘cancer runs in my family’, but especially now that we are living longer, one in two people get cancer in their lifetime so of course it may be in the family.
“Saying that, there are some cancers that can be genetic, such as breast cancer.”
If two female relatives or one male relative has breast cancer, he said, then you should be tested to see if you have the mutation or not. “And we can screen for that.”
In fact, with the knowledge we have access to today, Frazer says we can prevent 70 percent of cancer.
Ten percent can be avoided by vaccinating against HPV and Hepatitis B. Thirty percent can be avoided by not smoking, consuming excessive alcohol and exposing yourself to too much sun. Another 30 percent is preventable by avoiding toxic substances in the environment such as air pollution, and in some parts of Southeast Asia, excluding Indonesia, arsenic in drinking water.
Gardasil is available in Indonesia but there is not yet a government subsidized nationwide vaccination program.
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