"A Cancer Vaccine is Born: The Story of the Human Papillomavirus" will be the subject of tomorrow's Hot Topics in Molecular Medicine lecture series. Featuring Dr. Robert Rose, associate professor of medicine and of microbiology and immunology at the University of Rochester Medical Center, the program will begin at 4:30 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 14, in Scott Hall's Jaffar Auditorium.

Along with two colleagues, Dr. Rose developed the key technology behind two vaccines that may eliminate cervical cancer, a disease that each year kills 250,000 internationally, including 4,500 Americans. Using "the Rochester technology," two vaccines have been developed, one of which is already on the market.

The human papillomavirus is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States, with an estimated 24 million active cases and 5.5 million new cases each year, according to the National Cancer Institute. Various strains of HPV cause the great majority of cases of cervical cancers. Despite this fact, public ignorance about HPV is high.

Recent studies have shown that there are elevated levels of HPV infection among women, with leading levels among young women. Although cases of HPV are not formally reported in the United States, available data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that at least 75 percent of the reproductive-age population has been exposed to the sexually transmitted HPV. Cervical cancer, which is associated with HPV infection, is now the ninth most common cancer among women in the United States.

The Hot Topics in Molecular Medicine lecture series, a program of the Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, is free and open to the public. A discussion and catered reception will follow the talk. Complimentary valet parking is available at Detroit Receiving Hospital.