<p>Human papillomavirus may be behind a third of all throat cancers, suggesting that the HPV vaccine may provide patients with protection from the disease, a new Oxford study has found.<br /><br />The new findings come just a month after Basic Instinct star Michael Douglas reported to have spoken about the link after his own diagnosis with throat cancer.<br /><br />Experts said the research which quantifies the link, showed "striking" results, BBC News reported.<br /><br />HPV is the major cause of cervical cancer, and is known to spread through genital or oral contact.<br /><br />The study looked at HPV's link with cancer of the back of the throat - oropharyngeal cancer. It looked at blood test results collected from people who took part in a huge prospective study into lifestyle and cancer, who were all healthy at the start.<br /><br />Researchers were able to check for the presence of antibodies to one of HPV's key proteins - E6 that knocks out part of cells' protection system, which should prevent cancer developing.<br /><br />Having the antibodies means HPV has already overcome that defence and caused cancerous changes in cells, the report said.<br /><br />The study compared blood test results - some more than 10 years old - for 135 people who went on to develop throat cancer and for 1,599 cancer-free people.<br /><br />Researchers at the University of Oxford found 35 per cent of those with throat cancer had the antibodies, compared with fewer than 1 per cent of those who were cancer-free.<br />The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.</p>
<p>Human papillomavirus may be behind a third of all throat cancers, suggesting that the HPV vaccine may provide patients with protection from the disease, a new Oxford study has found.<br /><br />The new findings come just a month after Basic Instinct star Michael Douglas reported to have spoken about the link after his own diagnosis with throat cancer.<br /><br />Experts said the research which quantifies the link, showed "striking" results, BBC News reported.<br /><br />HPV is the major cause of cervical cancer, and is known to spread through genital or oral contact.<br /><br />The study looked at HPV's link with cancer of the back of the throat - oropharyngeal cancer. It looked at blood test results collected from people who took part in a huge prospective study into lifestyle and cancer, who were all healthy at the start.<br /><br />Researchers were able to check for the presence of antibodies to one of HPV's key proteins - E6 that knocks out part of cells' protection system, which should prevent cancer developing.<br /><br />Having the antibodies means HPV has already overcome that defence and caused cancerous changes in cells, the report said.<br /><br />The study compared blood test results - some more than 10 years old - for 135 people who went on to develop throat cancer and for 1,599 cancer-free people.<br /><br />Researchers at the University of Oxford found 35 per cent of those with throat cancer had the antibodies, compared with fewer than 1 per cent of those who were cancer-free.<br />The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.</p>