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HIV drug helps prevent cervical cancer
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
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Scientists say a widely used HIV drug called Lopinavir may help prevent cervical cancer. The most common cause of cervical cancer is the human papillomavirus, which is sexually transmitted and can also cause mouth and throat cancer.
Scientists at the University of Manchester have discovered that the antiviral drug Lopinavir kills cells infected with HPV, leaving healthy cells virtually unaffected. The researchers came to this conclusion during scientific experiments on cell cultures. Traditional vaccines are not effective for women infected with the human papillomavirus, and also cannot protect against all its strains.
In addition, such vaccines are quite expensive, which limits their use in developing countries. Cervical cancer caused by HPV is one of the most common cancers among women in developing countries, where it accounts for about 290,000 deaths each year.
One of the study's authors, Dr Lynn Hampson, said: "The results of this study show that not only does Lopinavir preferentially kill HPV-infected non-cancerous cells by activating the body's antiviral systems, but it is also less toxic to healthy cells."