Medicine: virus hunter” zur Hausen is dead – father of the papilloma vaccination

medicine
Virus hunter” zur Hausen is dead – father of the papilloma vaccination

German cancer researcher Harald zur Hausen sits in a laboratory at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in 2008. Photo

© Ronald Wittek/dpa

Bold hypotheses contrary to all prophecies of doom: In the case of the papilloma virus, Harald zur Hausen succeeded – which even earned him the Nobel Prize in Medicine. He was a tireless fighter against cancer.

The fight against cancer never let him go. His main interest was the role of viruses in tumor development. Medicine Nobel Prize winner Harald zur Hausen died on Sunday at the age of 87, according to the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg.

With him goes the pioneer of vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV), which also protects against cervical cancer. The virologist received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2008 for the necessary basic research.

The grandmother of the Gelsenkirchen native had died of cervical cancer. Vaccines developed on the basis of his findings, which are given in adolescence, can now not only protect women from this cancer, but also men from malignant anal and penile tumors. “It’s no exaggeration to say that Harald zur Hausen has opened up a whole new dimension in cancer prevention,” said Michael Baumann, Chairman and Scientific Director of the DKFZ.

Zur Hausen: “I was lucky there”

“I was lucky with the papilloma viruses,” said zur Hausen once. In the early 1980s, he put forward the then-extraordinary theory that papillomaviruses caused cervical cancer. “In the beginning there was a great deal of skepticism,” Zur Hausen later described the reluctance of his colleagues. At that time, herpes viruses were thought to be the cause of cervical cancer. But the researcher, known among colleagues for his scientific intuition and perseverance, contradicted the prevailing school of thought.

Eventually, he was able to isolate two virus types that are now considered to be the two most important high-risk types in the development of this type of cancer. Again and again he publicly promoted the vaccination, especially that of boys as carriers.

According to the RKI, more than 4,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year in Germany, and around 1,600 die. Vaccination is currently recommended by the Standing Vaccination Committee at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for all girls and boys aged 9 to 14. Missed vaccinations can be made up for up to the age of 17.

Call for frustration

Zur Hausen’s inflexibility – others called it Westphalian stubbornness – is also made clear in the eulogy that the then Federal President Horst Köhler gave to the researcher in 2009 when he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit: “You went your own way with perseverance, made yourself independent of scientific dogmas and of extra-scientific interests.”

Zur Hausen gave young scientists the following advice: “Basically, you have to assume that most of the hypotheses that you make and that you work on for a long time will turn out to be wrong. You then have to correct them – and keep working .” You have to have a certain willingness to be frustrated, perhaps even more so in science than in other areas.

Most recently, he investigated whether pathogens in the milk and meat of certain types of cattle can lead to breast and colon cancer. He substantiated his thesis, among other things, by pointing out the worldwide distribution pattern of these types of cancer. In India, for example – where cows are considered sacred by many and are hardly eaten – comparatively few people develop colon cancer. Colon cancer rates are far higher in beef-heavy regions like North America, Argentina, Europe and Australia. According to the theory, ring-shaped genetic elements (BMMF), which even children ingest with milk and beef, can promote colon cancer. In addition, the BMMF were detected much more frequently in the vicinity of malignant intestinal tumors than in the intestinal tissue of cancer-free people.

To be found in the laboratory until old age

Zur Hausen was born on March 11, 1936 and studied medicine at the universities of Bonn, Hamburg and Düsseldorf. After receiving his doctorate in 1960, he worked at the Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology in Düsseldorf and at the Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia. In 1969, zur Hausen habilitated in virology, three years later he took over the management of the Institute for Clinical Virology at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. In 1977 he was appointed to the Chair of Virology and Hygiene at the University of Freiburg in the same capacity.

From 1983 zur Hausen headed the DKFZ, which he developed into one of the world’s leading cancer research institutes. Around 3,200 people work there today, including around 1,400 scientists. He strengthened the cooperation between the DKFZ and clinical institutions in order to transfer the research results to the patient more quickly. The special promotion of tumor virology was also trend-setting. In 2003 zur Hausen retired. The Nobel Prize winner was often to be found in the laboratory at the DKFZ well into old age.

Zur Hausen had three sons with his first wife. In 1993 he married cancer researcher Ethel-Michele de Villiers. They lived together for a long time in Wald-Michelbach in the Odenwald (Hesse), of which he is an honorary citizen. In his free time he gardened and photographed animals in South Africa, his wife’s home country.

dpa

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