What is The Connection Between HPV and Cervical Cancer?
HPV is the most prevalent of all the Sexually Transmitted
Diseases in the United States; it is thought that over
70% of all men and women will have the virus at some
point in their lives. There is a connection between
HPV and cervical cancer – the human papillomavirus
has been shown to be present in nearly every case of
cervical cancer. It is now believed that HPV is the
cause of 93% of all cervical cancer.
Of the multiple HPV strains, few produce any symptoms;
of these, not all people who are infected will get the
symptoms. This makes it difficult to slow the spread
of the virus because people can be carriers without
being aware of it. It is believed that most people will
be infected with one or more strains of HPV during their
life but the majority of these infections will go away
on their own. A strong immune system will successfully
remove the virus from the body.
The most common HPV symptom is warts, both the type
that kids get on their hands and genital warts which
are caused by more contagious HPV strains. Not all strains
of HPV will produce genital warts, nor will every infected
person will have them. Genital warts are not linked
to cervical cancer – they are the symptom of different
HPV strains than those that are precursors to cervical
cancer. However, it is possible to be infected with
more than one strain of HPV at a time and so the presence
of genital warts does not necessarily mean you won't
get cancer. The HPV strains that are linked with cervical cancer
are HPV-16 and -18 but there are also strains that have
been linked to other cancers including vaginal, anal
and penile. Being infected with HPV-16 or -18 does not
mean you will develop cervical cancer; it just means
that you have been infected with a type of HPV that
may cause pre-cancerous abnormalities in the cells of
the cervix. These abnormalities may or may not develop
into cancer.
HPV can be diagnosed with an HPV test. The HPV test
is similar to the Pap test in the way the cells of the
cervix are collected and sent for analysis at a pathology
laboratory. When the cells are examined under a microscope,
small changes or abnormalities can be detected and then
analyzed to see if HPV or some other virus is present.
The type of HPV can also be determined.
Sometimes the
abnormalities are picked up during a regular Pap test
and then another test may be ordered for HPV. If one
of the precursors for cervical cancer is found, there
are treatment options which your doctor will discuss
with you. Early diagnosis is the key to a successful
outcome and this is why all women over the age of 30
are advised to ask that an HPV test be added to their
regular Pap smear; both tests can be performed on the
same sample.
If you get a positive result from your HPV test, there
is not need to panic; remember you have the virus, not
the cancer necessarily. Your immune system may well
be able to deal with the viral infection and get rid
of it from your body; the majority of HPV infections
do not develop into cervical cancer. The test may indicate
pre-cancerous abnormalities called dysplasia, which
is not cancer.
Cervical dysplasia can progress to CIS
or carcinoma in situ, a more serious form of dysplasia,
which affects the outer layer of cells. CIS is able
to be treated and cured in around 95% of cases. Cervical
cancer occurs when the cancer cells invade the underlying
tissue. Dysplasia often regresses over a period of time,
but scientist have not yet discovered why or how this
happens.
It is hoped that the new cervical cancer vaccinations,
which are targeted at the HPV strains that lead to cervical
cancer and other genital cancers, will drastically reduce
the number of women who develop cervical cancer. |
