We feel very honoured to welcome Harald zur Hausen in Antwerp giving the Keynote Speech within the Opening Ceremony.

A Portrait

Raising new hopes in the fight against cancer is Harald zur Hausen's great service to medicine. In 1976 the physician presented the hypothesis that viruses could also cause cancer. In his research, zur Hausen concentrated on the human papilloma virus (HPV), a known cause of skin warts. His hypothesis that these wart viruses play a role in the development of cervical cancer was initially met with scepticism.

Zur Hausen and his team made a breakthrough in 1982 and 1983 when they were able to isolate HPV 16 and HPV 18 as the virus types responsible for cervical cancer. Based on these findings, vaccines have been developed against cervical cancer, one of the most common forms of cancer among women.

(excerpt from BMBFNobel Laureate Portraits)