Prevention of Infection-Related Cancers
This chapter discusses primary prevention measures that disrupt transmission of oncogenic infections. It begins by discussing vaccination against hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human papillomavirus (HPV), two major causes of cancer for which safe and effective vaccines are currently available. It briefly discusses the importance of treatment and prophylaxis against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), which potentiates the virulence of other viral infections as well as directly increasing the incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It does not discuss the treatment of HBV or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, since these are considered in Chapters 25 and 33. Also beyond the scope of this chapter are the randomized clinical trials currently underway to assess the efficacy and feasibility of eradication of Helicobacter pylori (Chapters 24, 31), vaccination against Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) (Chapters 24, 26, 39), or the prevention of schistosomiasis and liver flukes (Chapters 24, 33, and 52).