ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — It’s a rare and devastating disease that can silence a person’s voice and breath, literally! Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, or RRP, has forced some people to undergo hundreds of surgeries just to breathe or speak again. Now, for the first time ever, the FDA has approved a treatment that targets the root cause of the disease, helping patients find their voice and breathe again.
From the pulpit to the choir, preaching has always been Pastor Lorenzo Small’s calling. But a few years ago Lorenzo’s voice began to fade along with his hope.
“My voice to me was everything because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word. And how can they hear without a preacher. But what happened when the preacher is silent, then hope turns to hopelessness. I was in a valley of despair,” he told Ivanhoe.
Doctors diagnosed Lorenzo with RRP, a disease caused by chronic HPV infection that leads to growths on the vocal cords and airway. Until now, the only option was repeated surgery, sometimes dozens of times a year.
“Even small lesions on the vocal cords can cause profound voice disturbance that is intolerable if you use your voice professionally,” said Clint Allen, MD, surgical oncologist at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD.
He led the study for a new immunotherapy called Papzimeos. It’s the first FDA-approved treatment that addresses the underlying HPV infection.
“What this carries is the possible long-term benefit of having a one-time treatment course with no disease recurrence because the papilloma virus is either completely eliminated or completely held at bay by the immune system,” explained Dr. Allen.
The treatment involves four injections over 12 weeks. In clinical trials, more than half of patients required no more surgeries in the year following treatment. For Lorenzo, it was life-changing.
“After the second day, I started getting better. My voice started coming back. And it was just an inspiration. It was like meeting an old friend,” he recalled.
Four years later, Lorenzo’s voice and his hope are still strong.
Dr. Allen says we still don’t know why some people’s immune systems can’t clear HPV infections that lead to RRP. But the HPV vaccine, now routinely given to preteens, can help prevent these infections before they start. Experts say it may take decades before today’s vaccinations fully reduce HPV-related diseases in adults.
Contributors to this news report include: Marsha Lewis, Producer; Chuck Bennethum, Videographer & Editor.
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