Register for Treatment Could Make Removal Less Painful And Less Invasive
Anal WartsJune 28, 2001
2001 JUN 28 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new study reported by GayHealth.com's medical director, Stephen Goldstone, MD, FACS, has identified a promising new immune-stimulating treatment for anal warts.
The study was presented June 6, 2001, at the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons Meeting in San Diego, California.
Between one million and four million men and women in the United States have visible anogenital warts, and over half of all gay men carry the human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that causes genital warts, in their anal canals. HPV is a common sexually transmitted disease that can lead to cervical and anal cancer. Treatment for anal warts often requires painful surgery or repeated visits to the doctor, and the warts recur in up to 50% of treated patients. The new treatment, however, eradicates or shrinks the warts, thereby making anal wart removal, if necessary, a much less painful and invasive procedure.
"Treatment for anal warts is often a recurring nightmare for infected patients," says Goldstone. "Any treatment that can eradicate the warts, or markedly reduce their size, will represent a significant advance in HPV therapeutics."
Goldstone treated 14 patients with anal warts with a protein compound called HspE7, which stimulates the immune system to attack the warts. Over a period of six months, the compound eradicated the warts in three of the patients. In 10 patients, the compound shrunk the warts by 70% to 95%.
An immune-based therapy may come with an added benefit, says Goldstone. "The fact that this is immune-based means it may have the potential to decrease recurrence rates of anal warts, which is very exciting. Further long-term follow-up is necessary to determine whether this is indeed the case."
Goldstone's findings prompted Stressgen Biotechnologies of Victoria, B.C., Canada, which owns HspE7, to open a Phase II clinical trial of the compound. This is currently under way, and results may be announced as early as the end of 2001. This article was prepared by Women's Health Weekly editors from staff and other reports.
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