The history of the human papillomavirus and the discovery of its causal relationship with cervical cancer in the campaign to eradicate this disease Authors Laia Alemany Laia Bruni DOI: 10.2436/20.1501.02.231 Keywords: human papillomavirus, cancer, prevention. Abstract Certain genotypes of human papillomavirus (HPV) are the necessary cause of cervical cancer and the etiological cause of some anogenital and head and neck carcinomas. At present, twelve types of HPVs have been classified as definitely known carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and HPV16 is the most carcinogenic genotype. The carcinogenic classification of the HPVs is based on extensive epidemiological studies that have been conducted and biological evidence collected in recent decades thanks to the close cooperation between scientists who sought to discover the etiological cause of cervical cancer. HPV16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 45, 52 and 58 are the most carcinogenic HPVs, being responsible for approximately 90% of all cervical cancers. Since 2006, three effective prophylactic vaccines have been authorised. The demonstration of the fact that HPV is the necessary cause of cervical cancer has also translated into the improvement of screening strategies with the HPV test. The integral research carried out on this cancer and its etiological cause and prevention has had a significant impact on public health policies worldwide, to such an extent that in 2020 the World Health Organisation launched a campaign to eliminate cervical cancer, a possible milestone that had never before been envisaged in the field of oncology. Downloads Download data is not yet available. Downloads PDF (Català) Issue Vol. 74 (2024) Section Articles License The intellectual property of the articles belongs to the respective authors. At the time of submitting the articles to Treballs de la Societat Catalana de Biologia, authors accept the following terms: — Authors assign to the SCB (a subsidiary of the Institut d’Estudis Catalans) the rights of reproduction, public communication (including communication through social networks) and distribution of the articles submitted for publication to Treballs de la Societat Catalana de Biologia, in any form and medium, including digital platforms. The Publications Committee reserves the right to accept or refuse submitted articles and the right to make any editorial changes it deems appropriate. If the suggested changes are accepted by authors, they should re-submit the article with such changes. — Authors answer to the SCB for the authorship and originality of submitted articles. In other words, authors assure that submitted articles do not contain fragments of works by other authors or fragments of their own previously published works; that the content of articles is original, and that the copyright of third parties is not infringed upon. Authors accept this responsibility and undertake to hold harmless the SCB for any loss or damage resulting from non-compliance with this obligation. Furthermore, they should include a statement in articles submitted to the journal regarding their responsibility for the content of the articles. — Authors are responsible for obtaining permission for the reproduction of all graphic material included in articles, and they should moreover ensure that images, videos, etc., have been created with the consent of the individuals appearing in them, and that material belonging to third parties is clearly identified and acknowledged as such within the text. Likewise, authors should provide the respective consents and authorisations to the SCB when submitting articles. — The SCB is exempt from any liability arising from the possible infringement of intellectual property rights by authors. In all cases, it undertakes to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies, if necessary. — Unless otherwise stated in the text or in the graphic material, the contents published in the journal are subject to an Attribution - NonCommercial - NoDerivs 3.0 Spain (by-nc-nd) license from Creative Commons, the full text of which may be consulted at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/deed.en. Therefore, the general public is authorised to reproduce, distribute and communicate articles as long as their authorship and publishing entity are acknowledged, and no commercial use is made of them nor derivative work produced from them. — The journal is not responsible for the ideas and opinions expressed by the authors of published articles.
