Your Health
Preventing Cervical Cancer and HPV Infection
Tanya Vreeke, DO
When I last wrote an article on cervical cancer and HPV (human papillomavirus) infection, the HPV vaccine showed promise, but was not yet available to the public. Now, a vaccine is available that can help prevent cervical cancer, which scientists now know is caused by a virus.
What is human papillomavirus? HPV is a sexually transmitted virus, not a disease. Almost all people who have been sexually active have carried the virus at some time. Most HPV is controlled by the immune system, and most people never know they’ve had it. There are more than 200 types of HPV, but only 15 or so are associated with cancer.
What is HPV’s connection to cervical cancer? Virtually all cervical cancers are caused by HPV. Cervical-cancer patients have most probably carried the virus for many years. Each year about 10,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer in the United States and 4,000 women die from it. Now more attention is also being paid to, and studies conducted on, what role males play in the etiology of cervical cancer by HPV infection and transmission.
There is a vaccine for HPV. Who should get it? The American Cancer Society recommends the vaccine for girls when they are 11 or 12, before they begin having sex. It is also recommended as a “catch up” for women aged 13 to 18, and that women age 19 to 26 talk to their health care provider about whether the vaccine is right for them.
Right now vaccines are only used to prevent, not treat, an HPV infection. It only protects against some strains, which means women must still get screened regularly. The test is similar to a Pap (papanicolaou) test and is used in tandem with the Pap for women 30 and older. A Pap test can detect pre-cancerous and cancerous cells on the cervix. If both tests are negative, a woman doesn’t need to be screened again for three years. The test and vaccine are powerful new tools against cervical cancer.
Regular Pap testing and careful medical follow-up and treatment can help ensure that pre-cancerous changes in the cervix caused by HPV infection do not develop into life-threatening cervical cancer.
For more information regarding cervical cancer and HPV infection, please contact your health care professional at the Cresco Medical Clinic at 563.547.2022, toll free 1.888.547.5474 or the Lime Springs Medical Clinic at 563.566.2243, toll free 1.800.593.5463.
(Information for article obtained from the following web sites: www.cancer.org)
Cresco Medical Clinic
321 8th Avenue West • Cresco, IA 52136
A Department of Regional Health Services of Howard County