4 ms·

That's a pretty clickbaity title. It's really an article about increasing HPV vaccination and plummeting cervical cancer rates. But I'm skeptical that you can e

That's a pretty clickbaity title. It's really an article about increasing HPV vaccination and plummeting cervical cancer rates. But I'm skeptical that you can ever "eradicate" cancer as a form of disease, even a particular type of cancer.

jacobkg 9y ago
I believe they are discussing eradication of the HPV virus, which the article states causes 99.9% of cervical cancer. We do have proof of humanity once before successfully eradicating a virus, namely smallpox: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallpox#Eradication https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallpox#Eradication
- pbhjpbhj 9y ago
  An interesting titbit: >In 2017, Canadian scientists recreated an extinct horse pox virus to demonstrate that the smallpox virus can be recreated in a small lab at a cost of about $100,000, by a team of scientists without specialist knowledge. This makes the retention controversy moot since the virus can be easily recreated even if all samples are destroyed. //
Analemma_ 9y ago
They're talking about eradicating all reservoirs of HPV, akin to what several countries have successfully done with rabies. The headline is perfectly accurate.
- coldnose 9y ago
  As of the time of writing, the headline was, "Australia could become first country to eradicate cervical cancer" not, "... eradicate HPV". I'm skeptical a form of cancer can ever really be "eradicated".
  - stochastic_monk 9y ago
    You’re right. It could have been more nuanced about the HPV eradication. Still, if only 1/1000 cervical cancers have other etiologies, that does take them out of the most common cancers and make them rare. As a broad public health concern, it will be pretty close to eradicated. And yes, no cancer can be eradicated, ever. Life finds a way.
  - maxerickson 9y ago
    0.1% is pretty good as far as headline exaggerations go.
  - astura 9y ago
    HPV can actually cause other cancers besides just cervical. https://www.cdc.gov/hpv/parents/cancer.html https://www.cdc.gov/hpv/parents/cancer.html >HPV cancers include cancer of the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, or anus. HPV infection can also cause cancer in the back of the throat, including the base of the tongue and tonsils (called oropharyngeal cancer).
  - tialaramex 9y ago
    Because we tend to classify cancers by which organ was affected, _technically_ eradicating cervical cancer isn't possible without getting rid of the cervix (which you can technically do, but it's major surgery). However, practically all cervical cancer is caused by HPV. Without HPV cervical cancer would be extremely rare, because it's going to need several quite uncommon random events to coincide, the virus is "deliberately" meddling with the copying mechanics inside cells, that's how a virus propagates, without a virus those changes have to happen entirely by accident, maybe a series of cosmic rays. So it's not _that_ hyperbolic to say this eradicates the cancer itself.
ejstronge 9y ago
It does sound too good to be true. But in this case, it is true. HPV is probably the best example that exists of an infection being linked practically 1:1 to a cancer. See more information here[1]. If you have knowledge of any other significant sources of cervical cancer, please share them. 1. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cervical-cancer.html https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cervical-cancer.html

jacobkg 9y ago

I believe they are discussing eradication of the HPV virus, which the article states causes 99.9% of cervical cancer. We do have proof of humanity once before successfully eradicating a virus, namely smallpox: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallpox#Eradication https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallpox#Eradication

pbhjpbhj 9y ago
An interesting titbit: >In 2017, Canadian scientists recreated an extinct horse pox virus to demonstrate that the smallpox virus can be recreated in a small lab at a cost of about $100,000, by a team of scientists without specialist knowledge. This makes the retention controversy moot since the virus can be easily recreated even if all samples are destroyed. //

Analemma_ 9y ago

They're talking about eradicating all reservoirs of HPV, akin to what several countries have successfully done with rabies. The headline is perfectly accurate.

coldnose 9y ago
As of the time of writing, the headline was, "Australia could become first country to eradicate cervical cancer" not, "... eradicate HPV". I'm skeptical a form of cancer can ever really be "eradicated".
- stochastic_monk 9y ago
  You’re right. It could have been more nuanced about the HPV eradication. Still, if only 1/1000 cervical cancers have other etiologies, that does take them out of the most common cancers and make them rare. As a broad public health concern, it will be pretty close to eradicated. And yes, no cancer can be eradicated, ever. Life finds a way.
- maxerickson 9y ago
  0.1% is pretty good as far as headline exaggerations go.
- astura 9y ago
  HPV can actually cause other cancers besides just cervical. https://www.cdc.gov/hpv/parents/cancer.html https://www.cdc.gov/hpv/parents/cancer.html >HPV cancers include cancer of the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, or anus. HPV infection can also cause cancer in the back of the throat, including the base of the tongue and tonsils (called oropharyngeal cancer).
- tialaramex 9y ago
  Because we tend to classify cancers by which organ was affected, _technically_ eradicating cervical cancer isn't possible without getting rid of the cervix (which you can technically do, but it's major surgery). However, practically all cervical cancer is caused by HPV. Without HPV cervical cancer would be extremely rare, because it's going to need several quite uncommon random events to coincide, the virus is "deliberately" meddling with the copying mechanics inside cells, that's how a virus propagates, without a virus those changes have to happen entirely by accident, maybe a series of cosmic rays. So it's not _that_ hyperbolic to say this eradicates the cancer itself.

ejstronge 9y ago

It does sound too good to be true. But in this case, it is true. HPV is probably the best example that exists of an infection being linked practically 1:1 to a cancer. See more information here[1]. If you have knowledge of any other significant sources of cervical cancer, please share them. 1. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cervical-cancer.html https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cervical-cancer.html