Publication date: Jul 04, 2025
Persons with albinism (PWA) have excessively high risks of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) if not protected from ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposures, a situation which occurs too often amongst affected persons in sub-Saharan Africa. Certain countries in Eastern and Southern Africa, where levels of UV radiation are high, also have amongst the world’s highest national-level prevalence of oculocutaneous albinism. Cutaneous HPV infections, particularly β-HPVs, may be co-factors with UV in skin carcinogenesis. If this is the case, there may be a pivotal potential for NMSC risk reduction via suitable vaccine development in all at-risk populations, and with the greatest individual-level benefit in PWA. With this background, and amidst climate change-induced increases in UV exposures, the research funding and scientific community are urged to prioritise HPV research on skin carcinogenesis in PWA. In the current perspective, we summarise: (1) the putative co-role of HPV with UV in skin carcinogenesis; (2) the possible implications of a potential HPV role in NMSC carcinogenesis; (3) the risks of skin cancer in PWA in the African setting; and (4) the research needs on HPV and NMSC in PWA, including the sensitivities and ethical responsibilities of undertaking such research amongst the PWA community in the African context.
| Concepts | Keywords |
|---|---|
| Africa | Africa |
| Carcinogenesis | Albinism |
| Greatest | Carcinogenesis |
| Radiation | Exposures |
| Vaccine | High |
| Hpv | |
| Level | |
| Melanoma | |
| Nmsc | |
| Non | |
| Persons | |
| Pwa | |
| Radiation | |
| Risks | |
| Skin |
Semantics
| Type | Source | Name |
|---|---|---|
| disease | MESH | melanoma |
| pathway | KEGG | Melanoma |
| disease | MESH | skin cancer |
| disease | MESH | albinism |
| disease | MESH | oculocutaneous albinism |
| disease | MESH | HPV infections |
| disease | MESH | carcinogenesis |