HPV Vaccine May Prevent Skin Cancer

The HPV vaccine, which protects against several strains of the human papillomavirus, shows potential for preventing new spots of skin cancer from popping up in people who have had skin cancer in the past, a report of two patients’ cases suggests. Both patients developed fewer basal and squamous cell carcinomas compared with before receiving the vaccine, Livescience.com reported. The study led by Dr Anna Nichols, a dermatologist at the University of Miami, suggested that these types of skin cancer “may be driven, in part,” by HPV. Currently, 127 countries across the world have placed the vaccine in their national childhood immunization program. While the HPV vaccine is available in Iran (it costs $240 to receive all three doses), and is recommended between ages 9 and 13, it has not been placed in the national immunization program. Nearly all cases of cervical cancer are also caused by HPV.