Professor Vivien Chen, PhD,. Associate Professor Xiao Cheng Wu, MD, PhD and Assistant Professor Edward Peters, DMD, SM, ScD, at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Public Health contributed five papers to the largest most comprehensive assessment of the burden of human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers in the United States to date.

Results of the first study to determine the accuracy of a new rapid screening test for HPV (Human Papilloma Virus), created specifically for use in the developing world, have shown it to be 90 per cent accurate in detecting precancerous cervical disease when tested on a group of local women in Shanxi province, eastern China.

A new HPV test developed by QIAGEN specifically for use in regions of the world with scarce resources is "substantially" more accurate in identifying women with cervical disease than the current methods (Pap testing and visual inspection) in these countries.

New research into the causes of cervical cancer appears to lend weight to the promise of a potential early detection method that could help prevent human papillomavirus disease.

Watchful waiting may be an adequate initial treatment for many women infected with a carcinogenic type of human papillomavirus (HPV) if they have normal cervical cell cytology.

A random telephone survey of Hoosier adults' opinions about whether the HPV vaccine should be mandatory for middle school students reveals an "ambivalence about sexuality in our culture," similar to debates surrounding contraception and sex education, said William L. Yarber, senior director of the Rural Center on AIDS/STD Prevention at Indiana University.

In this Research letter, Dr. Gina Ogilvie and colleagues investigate the feasibility of self-collection of specimens for HPV testing among women who may not make full use of cytology screening programs (e.g., women who are homeless or who are involved in the sex trade) and are thus at increased risk of cervical cancer.

A vaccine against the sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer went on sale Wednesday in Italy, the first European Union nation to offer the vaccine free for 12-year-old girls, the Italian Health Ministry said.