HPV

Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is a very common and wide spread sexually transmitted disease. Several of the virus’ strands can cause genital warts and most cervical cancers. The following strands are considered high risk strands:

16     18     31     33     35     39     45     51

52    56     58     59     68     69     73     82

Did You Know?

• Women who are sexually active with multiple partners are more likely to contract the HPV strands which cause genital warts.
• HPV is the cause of 90 percent of all cervical cancer cases.

Symptoms

Most people with HPV do not develop symptoms or health problems from it. In 90% of cases, the body’s immune system clears HPV naturally within two years.

Genital warts usually appear as a small bump or groups of bumps in the genital area. They can be small or large, raised or flat, or shaped like a cauliflower. Health care providers can diagnose warts by looking at the genital area during an office visit. Warts can appear within weeks or months after sexual contact with an infected partner—even if the infected partner has no signs of genital warts. If left untreated, genital warts might go away, remain unchanged, or increase in size or number. They will not turn into cancer.

Cervical cancer usually does not have symptoms until it is quite advanced. For this reason, it is important for women to get regular screening for cervical cancer. Screening tests can find early signs of disease so that problems can be treated early, before they ever turn into cancer.

Other HPV-related cancers might not have signs or symptoms until they are advanced and hard to treat.  These include cancers of the vulva, vagina, penis, anus, and head and neck. For signs and symptoms of these cancers, see www.cancer.govExternal Web Site Icon.

RRP causes warts to grow in the throat. It can sometimes block the airway, causing a hoarse voice or troubled breathing

Treatment

There is no known cure for HPV.

Genital warts can be frozen and removed or removed via laser therapy.

Transmission/Causes

HPV is passed on through genital contact, most often during vaginal and anal sex. HPV may also be passed on during oral sex and genital-to-genital contact. HPV can be passed on between straight and same-sex partners—even when the infected partner has no signs or symptoms.

A person can have HPV even if years have passed since he or she had sexual contact with an infected person. Most infected persons do not realize they are infected or that they are passing the virus on to a sex partner. It is also possible to get more than one type of HPV.

Very rarely, a pregnant woman with genital HPV can pass HPV to her baby during delivery. In these cases, the child can develop RRP.

Diagnosis

The HPV tests on the market are only used to help screen for cervical cancer. There is no general test for men or women to check one’s overall “HPV status,” nor is there an HPV test to find HPV on the genitals or in the mouth or throat. But HPV usually goes away on its own, without causing health problems. So an HPV infection that is found today will most likely not be there a year or two from now.

Data/Statistics

Although nearly all cervical cancers are caused by HPV, cancer in some other areas of the body discussed on the page are often, but not always, caused by HPV. In general, HPV is thought to be responsible for about—

• 85% of anal cancers.
• 70% of vaginal cancers.
• 40% of vulvar cancers.
• 40% of penile cancers.

Cancers of the head and neck are usually caused by tobacco and alcohol, but recent studies show that about 25% of mouth and 35% of throat cancers are caused by HPV.

Consequences of the Disease

Genital warts – About 1% of sexually active adults in the U.S. have genital warts at any one time.

Cervical cancer – Each year, about 12,000 women get cervical cancer in the U.S.

Other cancers that can be caused by HPV are less common than cervical cancer. Each year in the U.S., there are about:

• 3,700 women who get vulvar cancer
• 1,000 women who get vaginal cancer
• 1,000 men who get penile cancer
• 2,700 women and 1,700 men who get anal cancer
• 2,300 women and 9,000 men who get head and neck cancers.

[Note: although HPV is associated with some of head and neck cancers, most of these cancers are related to smoking and heavy drinking.]

Prevention

There are several ways that people can lower their chances of getting HPV:

• Vaccines can protect males and females against some of the most common types of HPV. These vaccines are given in three shots. It is important to get all three doses to get the best protection. The vaccines are most effective when given before a person’s first sexual contact, when he or she could be exposed to HPV.
• Girls and women: Two vaccines (Cervarix and Gardasil) are available to protect females against the types of HPV that cause most cervical cancers. One of these vaccines (Gardasil) also protects against most genital warts. Both vaccines are recommended for 11 and 12 year-old girls, and for females 13 through 26 years of age, who did not get any or all of the shots when they were younger. These vaccines can also be given to girls as young as 9 years of age. It is recommended that females get the same vaccine brand for all three doses, whenever possible.
• Boys and men: One available vaccine (Gardasil) protects males against most genital warts. This vaccine is available for boys and men, 9 through 26 years of age.
• For those who choose to be sexually active, condoms may lower the risk of HPV. To be most effective, they should be used with every sex act, from start to finish. Condoms may also lower the risk of developing HPV-related diseases, such as genital warts and cervical cancer. But HPV can infect areas that are not covered by a condom – so condoms may not fully protect against HPV.
• People can also lower their chances of getting HPV by being in a faithful relationship with one partner; limiting their number of sex partners; and choosing a partner who has had no or few prior sex partners. But even people with only one lifetime sex partner can get HPV. And it may not be possible to determine if a partner who has been sexually active in the past is currently infected. That’s why the only sure way to prevent HPV is to avoid all sexual activity.