HPV and Cervical Cancer

HPV and cervical cancer have been shown to be closely linked. For public health services cervical cancer is an important problem because it kills every year hundreds of thousands women worldwide. Scientific studies have shown that the main risk factor of cancer of the cervix is the HPV infection.

HPV infection is very frequent among sexually active adult people and it can be responsible for different conditions. Most often HPV resides in mucosa and skin, causing pathological transformations in the epithelial cells. Sometimes HPV-induced transformations may progress into tumors, benign (papilloma, condyloma) or cancerous (carcinoma). It is usually possible to prevent cancer if the HPV infection is detected early, which can be achieved with the help of screening tests for HPV and cervical cancer.

Certain HPV types have been found to be associated with cancerous lesions of the cervix more frequently than others. These types are commonly called high risk oncogenic HPV types. High-risk HPV types are more likely to be sexually transmitted and most often they infect genital organs. Patients with HPV and cervical cancer may not develop evident symptoms of the disease and it is usually required to perform special tests in order to detect HPV-induced lesions. Taking into consideration this fact, all women should have gynecological examinations regularly, once a year at least.

Signs of HPV and cervical cancer can be detected using different tests and diagnostic procedures. An effective test to identify cervical abnormalities is cytological analysis of cells taken from the cervix (Pap smear). The evaluation of cervical tissues can be realized through colposcopy and biopsy that are used for a better diagnosis of abnormalities found by Pap smear.

Usually the progression from cervical precancerous condition to cancer lasts several years. This provides the opportunity to find precancerous condition by regular screening before it develops into cancer. Patients with cervical lesions are frequently referred for DNA HPV testing since it helps to assess their risk for cancer and determine an adequate management. The efficacy of tests for HPV and cervical cancer screening has been confirmed by health care providers: these diagnostic measures have contributed to reduce the incidence of cervical cancer.