Researchers on Friday said test-tube studies have shown that the drug lopinavir used for combating HIV also killed human papilloma virus (HPV), the virus that causes cervical cancer.
Dr Ian Hampson and his colleagues in Manchester believe that lopinavir, which is actually a protease inhibitor, could eventually be transformed into a simple ointment, offering an alternative to surgery for women with precancerous lesions.
However, researchers have not started any clinical trials.
Despite the ground-breaking vaccines for HPV developed by Merck and Co Inc and GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Hampson said that there will be a room for non-surgical therapies, since all the lesions would not be prevented by the new shots.
Results of the team's early research will be published in next month's issue of the journal Anti-Viral Therapy and will also be presented at the International HPV meeting in Prague on September 5.
