By Cathleen Rineer-Garber, Office of the Vice President for Health Sciences
Cosette Wheeler, PhD (photo)

This year alone, an estimated 510,000 new cases of cervical cancer will be diagnosed worldwide and 288,000 women are expected to die from the disease. Even more alarming, says Cosette Wheeler, PhD, professor of molecular genetics and microbiology at the UNM School of Medicine, is the fact that cervical cancer is caused by a virus and is largely preventable.

That’s why Wheeler has spent the past eight years working with colleagues from around the world to develop and test vaccines to prevent this devastating disease. “Fifteen years ago, no one knew what caused cervical cancer,” Wheeler says. “Now, not only do we know the cause, we have several very effective vaccines.”

Although the Papanicolaou or Pap smear test for cervical cancer has saved tens of thousands of lives since it was introduced in the early 1940s, the process is expensive. The US spends more than $6.5 billion a year on screening and treatment of abnormal Pap smears. The vaccine could significantly reduce these health care costs, which is especially important for women living in poor and underdeveloped countries.

Although routinely used in women’s health care in the US, Pap screenings are not routinely available in developing countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa, which is where the majority—80 percent—of cervical cancer deaths occur. Using vaccines is a far more practical and cost effective approach, says Wheeler.

The vaccines, given in three doses, are designed to block infection by Human Papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18, the sexually transmitted viruses that are believed responsible for about 70 percent of all tumors that occur in the cervix. Phase II clinical trials show the vaccines reduce the incidence of infections from HPV types16 and 18 by 100%.

Wheeler, who earned her doctorate in molecular biology/virology from the University of Arizona, says she didn’t set out to tackle HPV. Before she began researching the virus, she conducted hepatitis research at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. In 1988, she accepted a research professorship at the UNM Health Sciences Center.

“I was attracted to New Mexico because of the health disparities among Hispanic and Native American women,” says Wheeler, whose mother is from Mexico. “I saw this as an opportunity to make a difference for these women.” Through her HPV research, she’s accomplished that, and more.

“I’ve spent many years in a lab hoping to find practical applications for my work. Now we have vaccines that are 100 percent effective. That’s pretty incredible.” And, says, Wheeler, it’s only the beginning.

The vaccines are now in the third phase of clinical trials. If all goes well, they may be available as early as 2006. In the meantime, Wheeler is leading further studies on the long-term effectiveness of the vaccine; participating in tests of new vaccines against HPV 16, 18 and other HPVs; and advocating for the routine use of DNA testing to determine a woman’s risk of HPV infection developing into cervical cancer.

As a result of her work with the National Cancer Institute, HPV DNA testing is now available, but not widely used. She is currently working with the New Mexico Department of Health to establish a statewide HPV registry in order to determine the effectiveness of DNA testing.

“DNA testing in conjunction with Pap screening programs and vaccines is cost-effective and will help improve health care outcomes in women,” she says.

Published TRC Magazine Spring 2005


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