# P53, COVID-19, and HPV-Related Head and Neck Cancer

- Original post: https://www.twitter.com/i/status/2092651794963050556
- Source language: English
- Duration: 1:03
- Published: 2026-08-27
- Canonical URL: https://www.translate.mom/transcript/5qCcLaxFIkeu/en/p53-covid-19-and-hpv-related-head-and-neck-cancer

## Transcript

[0:03](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/5qCcLaxFIkeu/en/p53-covid-19-and-hpv-related-head-and-neck-cancer?t=3) Gene called P53 that actually prevents cancer from occurring.

[0:10](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/5qCcLaxFIkeu/en/p53-covid-19-and-hpv-related-head-and-neck-cancer?t=10) Elephants have eight P53s. That's why elephants don't get cancer.

[0:15](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/5qCcLaxFIkeu/en/p53-covid-19-and-hpv-related-head-and-neck-cancer?t=15) Wow. Did not know that. So you could be an elephant and you'd be fine. Guess what COVID does?

[0:21](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/5qCcLaxFIkeu/en/p53-covid-19-and-hpv-related-head-and-neck-cancer?t=21) It knocks down P53. Oh, really? Yes. Oh, no.

[0:26](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/5qCcLaxFIkeu/en/p53-covid-19-and-hpv-related-head-and-neck-cancer?t=26) We're about to publish that. Dr. Carlos Codona and I have done the work.

[0:29](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/5qCcLaxFIkeu/en/p53-covid-19-and-hpv-related-head-and-neck-cancer?t=29) It knocks down P53 and so therefore it's what I consider no different from HPV, which causes cancer with a latent period of once you have HPV, five, ten years. Now we are seeing for the first time in America head and neck cancer from HPV exceeding that of cervical cancer. So I've just treated about four, five, now six

[0:52](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/5qCcLaxFIkeu/en/p53-covid-19-and-hpv-related-head-and-neck-cancer?t=52) patients with head and neck cancer in our clinic, and we're about to start now a trial, a randomized trial of head and neck cancer where we're getting res-