International Papillomavirus Society Notes

It is with great regret that we acknowledge the final issue of The Papillomavirus Report.  The Journal has served the papillomavirus research community well over many years, and the Society has been pleased to that The Papillomavirus Report has been our official journal and partner.  We are particularly grateful to the several Editors-in-Chief and the Managing Editors who have devoted their exceptional energy and critical insight to this important endeavor.  Furthermore, our many colleagues who have contributed timely and insightful reviews have helped bring focus to the many facets of research in the basic sciences, the clinical presentation and management, and the epidemiology and public health aspects of papillomaviruses and their associated diseases in people and in animals.  The papillomavirus field has come a very long way over the past couple of decades and in no small measure to the sharing of information fostered by The Papillomavirus Report.

2005 has been an exceptional year in papillomavirus research, clinical activity, and product development. These achievements were all highlighted at the 22nd International Papillomavirus Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada under the creative direction and thoughtful organization by Joel Palefsky and Anna-Barbara Moscicki, both of the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center.  The Conference was a resounding success, from the three day clinical workshop morphing into the 5 day scientific conference, with daily press conferences on hot topics, to the Forum on HPV Education and Advocacy, and the Workshop on Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis.  Altogether more than 1400 people participated, and they came from over 65 countries.  Notably, there was robust participation by people working in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and health care sectors.  This was by far the largest such gathering in our field, and it stands testimony to both the increasing recognition of the importance of papillomaviruses and to the quite imminent prospects for prophylactic vaccines and for improved molecular screening.  Nonetheless, it remains humbling that we still have no effective and reliable anti-viral drugs with which to cure existing disease.

Under the auspices of a number of organizations, including the International Papillomavirus Society, regional workshops on HPV and cancer, on clinical management, on immunology and vaccinology, and on public health and epidemiology have been held and are increasingly being planned for the next several years.  There is widespread recognition that this is the time to increase the profile of HPV-associated diseases in developed and in emerging nations around the world.  To this end, AOGIN, the Asia Oceana research organization on Genital Infections and Neoplasia (http://www.rwh.org.au/microbiology/edu.cfm?doc_id=8547), under the leadership of Suzanne Garland, held its first meeting in Karambuni, Malaysia from July 18-20, 2005.  AOGIN is already planning its second meeting for Cebu, The Philippines (September 7-9, 2006).  Another workshop on HPV Neoplasias and Vaccines was held on September 3-4, 2005 in Seoul, South Korea, organized by Sue-Nie Park (Korean FDA) and Hyo-Pyo Lee (Korean Gynecologic Cancer Foundation).

For the near future, EUROGIN has scheduled its next meeting for Paris, April 23-26, 2006 (www.eurogin.com), coordinated by Joseph Monsonego.  A conference on “HPV and Cancer” is being planned by the Biotechnology Foundation, Turin, under the leadership of Santo Landolfo to be held in Turin, Italy from November 9-11, 2006.   In September, I had the great pleasure of speaking at the Argentine Congress on Virology and participating in a national workshop of representatives from the Ministry of Health, the heads of numerous Medical Societies, the academic community, the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, and the media, brought together by María Alejandra Picconi.  Out of this came an enthusiastic decision to move ahead with plans for an Argentine Papillomavirus Workshop, now scheduled for April, 2007.  I then traveled from Buenos Aires to Montevideo for hospital and university seminars on the clinical and basic scientific aspects of HPV.  Clinicians and scientists from Uruguay will join in with the Argentine HPV Workshop.  I next flew to Santiago, where Catterina Ferreccio had drawn delegates from all over Chile for a planning workshop comparable to that in Argentina.  From this historic gathering, as well, came the decision to hold an HPV workshop in Chile in April, 2007.  Drs. Picconi and Ferreccio recently met to coordinate closely the workshops intended for Buenos Aires and Santiago.  Meanwhile, Raúl Murillo and Gloria InesSanchez have join forces to plan an HPV Workshop for Medellin, Colombia, also during April, 2007.  Other HPV workshops are in various stages of planning for Cavtat, Croatia (Magdalena Grce), Bangkok, Thailand (Peter and Anisa Angeletti), Taipei, Taiwan (Craig Meyer), and potentially at several sites in Africa and India.  Collectively these enthusiastic efforts emphasize the growing awareness that universal education about HPV, the diseases, and the possible control measures including regular screening and prophylactic vaccines need to be prominently in the attention of the public, the medical establishment, and governmental leaders on a world-wide basis.

Meanwhile, substantial efforts are underway to push for HPV advocacy and constructive public policy.  For example, the European Consortium for Cervical Cancer Education (www.eccce.org; Philip Davies, Director) has been developing exceptionally accessible web-based materials of high quality, now available in numerous languages.  The substantial publication HPV Today (www.hpvtoday.com; Xavier Bosch, Editor-in-Chief) has superb, in-depth interviews with leaders across the international HPV community and provides timely updates concerning emerging developments.  The American Social Health Association (www.ashastd.org) and the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (www.nfprha.org) have taken the lead with regular meetings of a wide range of stakeholders among non-governmental organizations. So too has Women-in-Government (www.womeningovernment.org/prevention/), an organization of elected officials in State Legislatures and the National Congress of the United States, which recently held a major HPV information meeting in Atlanta.  The collective recognition of the advocacy groups is that public dialog, supportive public health policies, candid education, and ample funding are all necessary to implement the opportunities developed by the research community and put into practice through the corporate achievements.  In parallel, the Recurrent Respiratory Papilloma Foundation (www.RRPF.org) under the guidance of Bill and Marlene Stern, and the RRP ISA Center (www.rrpwebsite.org) under the direction of Michael Green have been meeting regularly in conjunction with the American Academy of Otolaryngology and other ENT professional societies.  In testament to the critical importance of advocacy, we can all feel very encouraged that Time Magazine has just named its Persons of the Year to be Bill and Melinda Gates along with U2's Bono for their extraordinary efforts in support of health care in emerging nations, particularly with respect to infectious diseases such as HIV, malaria and HPV.  Specifically, the Gates Foundation has targeted HPV diseases through its generous support of the Alliance for Prevention for Cervical Cancer Prevention (www.alliance-cxca.org).

Finally, planning for the 23rd International Papillomavirus Conference in Prague, the Czech Rpublic, is well along, under the guidance of Lubomir Turek, Elaine Smith, and Tom Haugen of the University of Iowa and Eva Hamsukova and Vladimir Vonka at the Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion in Prague.  The Clinical Workshop will begin on September 1, 2006 and the main scientific conference will commence on September 3, continuing through September 7.  More details such as registration forms and abstract submission procedures will be forthcoming at www.hpvconference2006.org.

The 24th Conference will be in Beijing, China from November 3-10 under the leadership of Zhi-Ming (Thomas) Zheng (U.S. National Cancer Institute) and Suyun Ma (Chinese Medical Association).  And the 25th Conference will be held in Malmø, Sweden (May 8 - 14, 2009), with Joachim and Lena Dillner as the lead organizers.  

Persons interested in suggesting additional venues and in contributing to such forums should feel very encouraged.  You can contact me for a meeting planning guide and to discuss the various possibilities for scope and external coordination.  The International Papillomavirus Society is endeavoring to foster these conference and educational activities by assisting in organizational issues, fund-raising, speaker bureaus, training materials, and publicity.  Moreover, anyone wishing to contribute to the content of the Society web site (www.IPVSoc.org) should also offer their suggestions.  We will be making a particular effort to expand the content of the site for the diverse professional communities and for the general public and to improve presentation and ease of use for everyone.

We are in very exciting times, and the future is bright indeed.

I look forward to seeing you in Prague and at some of the upcoming workshops!  And, once again, special thanks to the many people who made The Papillomavirus Report such an crucial voice throughout a seminal period in the growth and development of our field of inquiry and service.

Tom Broker

President, The International Papillomavirus Society