About HPV and Cervical Cancer

New Vaccines are on the market. Educate yourself.

It could save your life. This is not about meningitis but we feel it is important to the health of young women.

 

Cervical cancer is a major global health problem, with nearly 500,000 new cases occurring each year worldwide. It is the second most common cancer - and the third leading cause of cancer deaths - in women worldwide.5

In the UK each year, almost 3,000 new cases of cervical cancer are reported6 and there are more than 1,000 deaths.5 It is the second most common cancer in women under the age of 35 years in the UK.6

Virtually every woman is at risk of cervical cancer. It is not hereditary. Cervical cancer is caused by persistent infection with an oncogenic (cancer causing) HPV virus. HPV is a very common infection that is easily transmitted through close sexual contact (sexual intercourse is not necessarily required).7

There are oncogenic and low risk types of HPV. Only the oncogenic types cause cervical cancer. Just two oncogenic HPV types, 16 and 18, are responsible for 70 per cent of cervical cancers.8

70-80 per cent of sexually active women will be infected with HPV at some point in their lives.9,10 Infection with HPV can occur at any time in a woman's life, from first sexual contact.

Cervical screening is an important diagnostic tool against cervical cancer and the UK operates a highly effective screening programme that saves up to 5,000 women's lives each year.11 Women should attend for regular cervical screening.

 

References
1. De Villier EM, Heterogenicity of the Human Papilloma virus infections. J Clin Virology 189; 63: 4898-903
2. Harper DM, Franco EL, Wheeler C, Ferris DG, Jenkins D, Schuind A, Zahaf T, Innis B, Naud P, De Carvalho NS, Roteli-Martins CM, Teixeira J, Blatter MM, Korn AP, Quint W, Dubin G. Efficacy of a bivalent L1 virus-like particle vaccine in prevention of infection with human papillomavirus types 16 and 18 in young women: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet 2004; 364: 1757-1765
3. Dubin G et al. Cross-protection against persistent HPV infection, abnormal cytology and CIN associated with HPV-16 and 18 related HPV types by a HPV 16/18 L1 virus-like particle vaccine
4. Giannini SL et al. Superior Immune Response Induced by Vaccination with HPV 16/18 L1 VLP Formulated with AS04 Compared to Aluminum Salt Only Formulation. Poster B68, presented at the 4th Annu.Int.Conf. on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research (AACR), October 30 - November 2, 2005, Baltimore, MD, USA
5. Ferlay J, Bray P, Pizani P, Parkin DM. Cancer incidence, mortality and prevalence worldwide. Available at: GLOBOCAN 2002. Accessed September 20, 2005
6. CancerStats 2003. Cancer Research UK
7. Baseman JG, Koutsky LA. The epidemiology of human papillomavirus infections. Journal of Clinical Virology 2005. 32S; S16-S24)
8. Munoz N et al. Against which human papillomavirus types shall we vaccinate and screen? The international perspective. Int J Cancer 2004; 111: 278-85
9. Choma K. ASC-US and HPV testing. Am J Nursing 2003; 103(2): 42-50
10. Koutsky L. Epidemiology of genital human papillomavirus infection. American Journal of Medicine 1997; 102 (5A); 3-8
11. Peto et al. The cervical cancer epidemic that screening has prevented in the UK. Lancet 2004 (July 17); 364: 249-256