School of Dentistry Seminar Series – Prof Belinda Nicolau, McGill University Presentation: Human papillomavirus infection: not a necessary, but potentially a sufficient cause of head & neck cancer

Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is now established as the principal cause of an increase in the incidence of a subset of head and neck squamous cell cancers (HNC) in several countries. After giving a brief overview of the epidemiology of HPV-HNC, this seminar will show the findings of our research, drawing from a study conducted in India and Canada. It will discuss the difference in risk profiles between these two populations, emphasizsing the impact of contributing factors (e.g., smoking) and patterns of HPV co-infection in HPV-HNC development. It will conclude by showing the protocol of a feasibility RCT aiming to test the effect of a mouthwash against oral HPV.

A light lunch will be provided after the seminar.

Biography

Belinda Nicolau is a Professor at the Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences at McGill University and an Associate Member of the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupation Health and the Department of Oncology at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Belinda’s work focuses on oral epidemiology; specifically, she studies the aetiology of chronic oral diseases, including oral cancer and oral inflammation, using epidemiological and life course approaches. She is an associate editor at the ‘Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology Journal’ and a Reviewing Editor of ‘E-Life’ Journal. She is the Chair of the Oral Cancer group of the Network for Canadian Oral Health Research and past President of the Canadian Association for Dental Research.