Meet Eva Ramón Gallegos, First Physician To Eradicate HPV In 29 Women

Dr Eva Ramón Gallegos has the boasting rights of 100% eliminating the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) in 29 patients. In 2019, the physician from Oaxaca, Mexico, implemented an innovative technique known as photodynamic therapy, a non-invasive treatment that could become an effective method to fight the cervical cancer-causing virus. Cervical cancer is one of the most fatal diseases among women worldwide. In Mexico, it is the second leading cause of death among women.

Dr Gallegos' discovery is not solely directed against HPV, but also eliminates premalignant lesions at very early stages, even before they evolve into invasive cancer. She presented the results of this pilot study at the National School of Biological Sciences at the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) where she works as a researcher.

How Photodynamic Therapy Works

Dr Gallegos explained in her study that photodynamic therapy involves applying a drug called delta-aminolevulinic acid to the cervix, which converts into protoporphyrin, a fluorescent substance that accumulates in damaged cells to eliminate them with a special laser, without the risk of destroying healthy cells around them.

In the first phase of the study, the researchers found that HPV was eliminated in 85% of patients who had the virus without lesions, and there was an 85% efficacy in patients with HPV and premalignant lesions.

In the second phase, the HPV was eliminated in 100% of patients without lesions, and reduced by 64.3% in those with premalignant lesions. The patients with no HPV but with lesions showed a treatment effectiveness of 57.2%.

Dr Gallegos stated, “Unlike other conventional treatments, this technique only eliminates damaged cells and does not affect healthy structures." She and her team have been studying photodynamic therapy for two decades. The treatment only affects damaged cells, unlike chemotherapy, which kills all cells, including healthy ones. 

Side Effects

Studies have also found some drawbacks to photodynamic therapy. According to the USA's National Cancer Institute, because it must penetrate the skin, it can only be used to treat tumours and lesions that are close to the skin’s surface. Other side effects are minimal. More long-term studies are underway to understand the efficacy and side effects.

Another recent study led by Wenjia Zhang et al, published in the journal Medicine, found that photodynamic therapy dramatically increased the remission rate of those with cervical lesions and HPV. Safety was only slightly compromised, with side effects including burns, scarring, and light sensitivity in the treated area.