Cervical Cancer and HPV

Margaret Lewin, MD
Medical Director, Cinergy Health
Guest Correspondent

Last year, 11,270 new cases of cervical cancer were diagnosed and another 1.2 million women will develop dysplasia, a condition which left untreated will turn into cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is a malignancy that develops in tissues of the cervix: the organ which connects the uterus to the vagina. It is preventable, slow-growing (so that it can be detected and cured early in its course), and is nearly always caused by infection from the human papilloma virus (HPV).

Cause: Most cases of cervical cancer are caused by HPV, a highly contagious virus which can be transmitted easily by skin to skin and sexual contact.

At least half of all sexually active Americans contract HPV during their lifetimes
About 20 million Americans between the ages of 15 and 50 carry the virus.
There are more than 100 types of HPV – of which more than a dozen (termed “high risk types”) can cause cervical cancer.
Most often, a person’s immune system kills off the virus without intervention
Exposure to high risk types of HPV is more likely to lead to cancerous changes of the cervix in women who smoke or whose immune system is impaired.

Prevention: Cervical cancer can be prevented by

Having no intimate contact with either men or other women
Obtaining the HPV vaccine – which can immunize against two high risk types of HPV (types 16 and 18), which cause about 70% of cervical cancers. It is given as a series of three injections over a period of six months. The vaccine is now FDA-approved for females and males between the ages of 9 and 26, although many physicians recommend the vaccine up to age 50 for sexually active women and men who have sex with men.
Screening and treatment for early evidence of pre-malignant changes to the cervix