Non-melanoma skin cancers (squamous cell and basal cell carcinoma) are the most frequent malignant tumors of man. The etiology of skin cancer is still under debate. Recent reports demonstrated a high prevalence of human-papillomovirus (HPV)-DNA in non-melanoma skin cancers. The etiologic role of some HPV types in the development of cervical cancer is well established. HPV types probably also play a role in head and neck cancers. The identification of HPV in skin cancer may indicate a similar key role in the pathogenesis of skin tumors, which would raise prospects of prevention by vaccination and provide targets for therapeutic options. This proposal is the first unified initiative of nine European institutions in Northern and Southern Europe and one in Australia, each disposing of a long-standing expertise in the field of papillomavirus research and/or epidemiology of skin cancer to study the role of HPV in skin cancer oncogenesis.
Project coordinator:Dr Jan Nico BOUWES BAVINCK
Department of Dermatology
Leiden University Medical Centre
PO Box 9600
2300 RC Leiden NETHERLANDS
Tel: +31 (71) 526 2421
Fax: +31 (71) 524 8106
Email: J.N.Bouwes_Bavinck@lumc.nl
Participants:
| Participant name |
Status* |
Country |
| Leiden University Medical Centre |
C |
Netherlands |
| Queensland Institute of Medical Research |
M |
Australia |
| Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 |
M |
France |
| German Cancer Research Centre |
M |
Germany |
| Humboldt-Universität Berlin |
M |
Germany |
| Institut für Virologie |
M |
Germany |
| Azienda Ospedaliera Ospedali Ruiniti di Bergamo | M |
Italy |
| Provincia Italiana della Congregazione dei Figli dell’immacolata Concezione - Istituto Dermopatico dell’immacolata | M |
Italy |
| Delft Diagnostic Laboratory B.V. | M |
Netherlands |
| University of London | M |
United Kingdom |
*C = Co-ordinator; M = Member
Sources: European Commission
