Women Health Information: The Signs of HPV

Women Health Information: The Signs of HPV

The Signs of HPV

Certain types of HPV may cause warts, or papillomas,
which are benign (noncancerous) tumors.

All warts are caused by papillomaviruses, but each type of HPV grows only on specific areas of the body. The HPV types that cause the common warts that grow on hands and feet are not transmitted sexually and differ from those that cause growths in the mouth and genital area.

About 40 types of HPV can be sexually transmitted and infect the genital area, including the cervix, vagina, vulva, anus and penis. HPV is, in fact, one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases, with many millions of new genital HPV infections occurring each year in the United States. As HPV rarely causes symptoms and therefore the majority of infections are unnoticed, genital HPV infections are likely to be even more common than we think.


Most genital warts are caused by HPV types 6 and 11. Warts may appear within several weeks or months after sexual contact with a person who has HPV, or they may never appear. HPVs may also cause flat, abnormal growths in the genital area and on the cervix. Again, HPV infections often do not cause any symptoms.

HPV Types and Their Association with Cancer

Research has clearly shown that HPVs are the major cause of cervical cancer. Studies also suggest that HPVs may cause a fraction of the cancers of the anus, vulva, vagina, and penis, and some cancers of the oropharynx (the middle part of the throat that includes the soft palate, the base of the tongue, and the tonsils).



Some types of HPVs are referred to as "low-risk" viruses because they rarely develop into cancer; these include HPV-6 and HPV-11, although the most common low-risk types cause neither warts nor cancer. HPVs that can lead to the development of cancer are referred to as "high-risk." Both high-risk and low-risk types of HPVs can cause the growth of abnormal cells, but usually only the high-risk types may lead to cancer.

Sexually transmitted, high-risk HPVs have been linked with anogenital cancer in
both men and women, and include HPV types 16, 18, 31, 33, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56,
58, 59, 68 and 69.

These high-risk types of HPVs cause growths that are usually flat, as compared with the warts caused by HPV-6 and HPV-11.

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How can be sure that you don’t get cervical cancer?

How can you be sure that you don’t get cervical cancer? If you have positive result of Pap Test!!!!

Other factors, in addition to having HPV, can raise the risk of developing cervical cancer. Some of these factors are not getting Pap tests, smoking, and having a weakened immune system. Take these steps to prevent cervical cancer:

• Get regular Pap tests. The best time to get a Pap test is between 10 and 20 days after the first day of your last period. Do not have the test done when you have your period. Don’t have sex or use douches, vaginal medicines (unless your doctor tells you to), spermicide foams, creams, or jellies two days before your Pap test. Talk to your doctor about how often to get Pap tests.

• Eat a healthy, balanced diet with delicious fruits and vegetables. In particular, carotene and vitamins C and E may reduce the risk of cervical and other cancers. Carotene is found in tomatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, and broccoli. You can get vitamin C by eating fruits, especially citrus fruits, and vegetables. The darker the color of the fruit or vegetable, the more vitamin C. Load up on oranges, green and red peppers, broccoli, papayas, and strawberries. Good sources of vitamin E include oils such as safflower and corn, wheat germ, and sunflower seeds and nuts, such as almonds, peanuts, and hazelnuts.

• Don’t smoke. Smoking can raise your risk of cervical cancer.

• Be faithful. Be faithful to your partner, meaning that you only have sex with each other and no one else.

• Protect yourself with a condom EVERY time you have vaginal, anal, or oral sex. HPV infection can infect male and female genital areas that are covered by a condom, as well as areas not covered by the condom. Using condoms may reduce the risk of getting genital warts and cervical cancer. But condoms may not completely protect you.

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Vaccine to Prevent HPV virus

FDA Approves a Vaccine to Prevent Cervical Cancer

Food and Drug Administration:FDA approved the first
vaccine that should prevent cervical cancer.

The vaccine works by building immunity against the sexually transmitted human papilloma virus:HPV which high relation to cervical cancer.

This vaccine, called “GARDISIL” which was approved for women ages between 9 and 26. The prospect of young girls receiving the vaccine has disturbed some social conservatives, who adamantly oppose efforts to make the vaccination mandatory. They say that sexual abstinence is the best way to avoid getting the virus.

Normally the widespread method to detect human papillomavirus:HPV use pap smears test -- which detect precancerous lesions and early cancer -- has dramatically reduced the number of cases. Officials said despite the effectiveness of the new vaccine, women should continue to get pap smears because about a quarter of cervical cancer cases are caused by viruses that are not blocked by the vaccine.

“GARDISIL” was developed by MERCK Co., and the company said the catalogue price for “GARDISIL” will be $120 per dose, and protection will require three doses over six months. That price has raised concerns that the vaccine will not be widely available to poor women or in less developed nations, where incidence of cervical cancer is considerably higher than in the United States.

The vaccine was reviewed and approved within six months by the FDA after the agency deemed it a priority product. It is genetically engineered and does not contain live viruses that could theoretically cause disease.The disease used to be far more common in the United States, but the widespread use of pap smears -- which detect precancerous lesions and early cancer -- has dramatically reduced the number of cases.

Officials said despite the effectiveness of the new vaccine, women should continue to get pap smears because about a quarter of cervical cancer cases are caused by viruses that are not blocked by the vaccine.While the vaccine is almost 100 percent effective in protecting against four variants of HPV, the FDA said it may not protect people already infected and might increase their risk of developing the kind of lesions that can lead to cervical cancer.

FDA's approval was almost universally hailed, but the vaccine could yet become controversial. Vaccines are always most effective when there is a "herd immunity," when enough people are immunized that
the pathogen gradually disappears.

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