Reflections On Personal Learning And Process Of Writing

This year alone approximately 12,360 documented new cases of cervical cancer in the United States and 4,020 deaths according to National Cancer Institute (“Cervical Cancer”, 2014). Cervical cancer is a slow growing cancer that grows in the tissues of the cervix (an organ that connects the uterus and vagina). The disease is predominantly caused by the human papillomavirus infection (HPV). According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the HPV virus is so common that nearly all sexually active women and men get it at some point in their lives. Many types of HPV exist, some causing genital warts and potentially cervical cancer. Individuals can get HPV by having unprotected genital to genital touching, oral, vaginal, or anal sex. Anyone who is sexually active can get HPV, and can develop symptoms years after they had sex with someone who is infected, making it difficult to know when they first became infected.

The advent of new human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccines with the potential to prevent the majority of cases of invasive cervical cancer presents a remarkable public health achievement (Markowitz et al., 2007). This is because cervical cancer is the commonest female cancer worldwide and it has been associated with HPV infection (Franceschi et al., 2009). In just 2015, there will be 12,900 new cases of cervical cancer in the United States with 4,100 estimated deaths (Siegel, Miller, & Jemel, 2015).

One of the first signs of HPV came in Italy in 1842 when a doctor noticed that married women and prostitutes developed cervical cancer, but nuns did not. While the doctor did not successfully determine the cause, this research was one of the first signs that cancers could be sexually transmitted. In 1907 Giuseppe Ciuffo determined that skin warts and genital warts were related and the likely cause of both types of warts was a virus. This hypothesis was confirmed in 1949 when technology became available to observe the virus itself. The overall study of papillomaviruses took a large step forward in 1930 when Peyton Rous discovered that the viruses could cause skin cancer in rabbits. In 1976 Dr. Harald zur Hausen proposed that the HPV caused cervical

Years later, Rous proposed that the change of normal cells is in stages, like virus exposure, hormonal changes, or chemical agent exposure. This was accepted readily, but viruses as cancer-causing agents was not recognized until later.

Among the 12, 200 new cases of cervical cancer ninety-percent of them are caused or attributed to HPV (ACS).

Cervical cancer is second among the most common cancer that affects women globally. The challenge towards the measures taken to reduce the disease among women is the lack of proper information on the link between the disease itself and the leading cause of it. The disease can be reduced by limiting sexual partners and practicing safe sex, which are challenging and difficult to promote. Therefore, one of the effective ways towards reducing the various cases of cervical cancer is through the HPV vaccination. Most women do not have the information on the connection between cervical cancer and HPV. Consequently, there is the uncertainty among women

Human cervical cancer is one of the most popular cancers in women of reproductive age around the globe (Baken et al., 1995). The human papillomavirus (HPV) causes cervical cancer. The main factors responsible for the cervical cancers are viral infection, inordinate sexual behavior, multiple sexual partners, weak immune system, and smoking

The last 25 years has seen an exponential growth in the literature surrounding this field, and there is now a strong and consistent molecular evidence base for a causal role of HPV in OPSCC. Indeed, in 2009 HPV was authoritatively recognised as a causal agent in the development of

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the United States (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention [CDC], 2015). Scientists predict that nearly all sexually active men and women will be infected with HPV at one point during their lifetime (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention [CDC], 2010, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention [CDC], 2015; International Agency for Research on Cancer, 2007, Riguad, 2015). Although HPV is common, it usually resolves on its own within a year or two of infection. It does not pose a risk until it has remained in the body for many years, in which it can lead to pre-cancerous cells and genital warts (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention [CDC], 2013; Human Papillomavirus (HPV), 2015; National Cancer Institute [NCI], 2012). HPV can be categorized into two groups, high risk HPV and low risk HPV. High risk HPV is responsible for the development of cancers, such as cervical, oropharyngeal, anal, vaginal, vulvar, and penile, whereas low risk HPV is associated with the development of genital warts (International Agency for Research on Cancer, 2007). Currently, there are nearly 26,000 new HPV-related cancers in the United States and roughly 18,000 occur in women, and 8,000 occur in men (President’s Report).

The HPV or better known as the Human papilloma virus helps prevent cervical cancer for women.

Research on cervical cancer reached a turning point when German virologist Harald zur Hausen discovered that women became susceptible to developing cervical cancer following HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) infection. Awarded with half the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2008, Harald zur Hausen presented novel human papilloma viruses as key contributors to the cancer, as HPV type 16 and 18 genomes and expression of its specific DNA genes merged into the tumour host cell genome. His discovery made it possible to develop a vaccine against the second most common cancer among women, as well as leading to the understanding of cervical carcinogenesis.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections cause cervical cancers, and some cancers of the vulva, vagina, penis, anus, and oropharynx. Two prophylactic HPV vaccines (Gardasil® and Cervarix®) can block new infections from a subset of the most prevalent HPV types, but have shown no therapeutic effect against pre-existing diseases. No effective therapeutics exists at present, and the mechanisms of HPV-associated disease progression and cancer are not well understood.

Of the more than 100 known strains of HPV, fifteen types have been found to be the most carcinogenic and contribute to 95% of all cervical cancers. HPV-16 accounts for at least 50% of all cervical cancer while HPV-18—the second most carcinogenic—accounts for at least 10%. At the same time, HPV-16 alone accounts for more than 80% of all vulvar and vaginal cancer (p. 250). But cervical, vulvar, and vaginal cancers represent only a portion of the carcinogenic effects of HPV. Nearly a decade after the studies that linked HPV to genital cancers, Cleveland et al. (2011) completed a meta-analysis study of The Cochrane Library and the National Guideline Clearinghouse between January 2005 and May 2011, finding that “HPV-16 alone is associated with 85 to 95 percent of oropharyngeal cancers” (p. 917). Furthermore, the meta-analytical study of more than one million women on five continents by Bruni et al. found that between 14.0 and 24.0% of women studied were infected with a form of potentially cancer-causing HPV (p. 1790). Prior to Bruni et al.’s study, it had been presumed that only 10% of the world’s women were infected with HPV (de Sanjose et al., 2007), the true rates being 40% to 140% greater than expected. In other words, once a direct cause-effect relationship between HPV and cancer was found, the need to prevent HPV infection became an exigent, global issue for both men and women’s health.

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are a group of more than 200 related viruses. More than 40 HPV types can be easily spread through direct sexual contact via vaginal, anal, and oral sex (NIH-NCI, 2015). While high-risk HPV types cause approximately 5% of all cancers worldwide, in the United States, high-risk HPV types cause approximately 3% and 2% of all cancer cases among women and men respectively. Cervical cancer, vaginal cancer, vulvar cancer, anal cancer, penile cancer, and oropharyngeal cancers can be caused by high-risk HPV (de Martel et al., 2012; Jemal et al., 2013).

Human Pappillomavirus is most commonly known as HPV and is the most common sexually transmitted disease with 360,000 new cases reported annually (Maurer 2016). HPV is a virus and it should be noted that it is not a singular virus. It is made up 100 viruses that are closely related. The difference however, is the severity of the specific strands of HPV. It is of the Family- Papillomarviridae, the Genus- Alphapapillomavirus and the species - Human Papillomavirus . The DNA which characterizes HPV is distinctly circular shaped, double chain and within it holds an estimate 8000 base pairs. This virus is located within the body specifically inside of thin, flat cells which are scientifically known as epithelial cells. Epithelial cells are