EDITORIALS Antisense Human Papillomavirus (HPV) E6/E7 Expression, Reduced Stability of Epidermal Growth Factor, and Diminished Growth of HPV-Positive

Papillomaviruses were the first viruses found to transmit can-cer. Isolates of a rabbit papillomavirus from infected cottontail rabbits were shown to produce benign papillomas in disease-free recipients (1). These viruses are small DNA viruses that display both species and tissue specificity and differ markedly in their transforming capacity. Although more than 70 different human papillomavirus (HPV) types have been identified, only certain strains of HPV have emerged as participants in the development of squamous cell carcinomas, including cancers of the cervix and the oral cavity. HPV16 and HPV18 are associated with neoplastic and preneoplastic lesions, whereas HPV6 and HPV11, although structurally similar to HPV16 and HPV18, are associated with benign growths such as warts (2–4). The HPV genome is an approximately 8-kilobase genome that encodes early (E) and late (L) gene products (2,5). E6, E7