What Are Cervical Cancer?

What is the Human Papillomavirus? Commonly known as HPV, it is an infection that spreads through sexual contact. There are over one hundred different types of HPV; several types cause genital warts, while other high risk strands can lead to cancer of the cervix, anus, vagina, and penis. Because HPV is often asymptomatic, many people are unaware of their infection status, and thus, their potential for transmitting the virus to a sexual partner. The significance of the Human Papillomavirus is that fifty percent of Americans who are sexually active will contract it within their lives, and at any given point there are twenty million Americans already infected with it (“By the numbers: HPV Vaccine”).

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.

Cervical cancer is when there are malignant cells present in the cervix; it is developed in the lining of the cervix. A cervix is a narrow opening located at the bottom of the uterus that leads into the vagina. Cervical cancer mostly affects women between the ages of 40 and 55. This cancer can be prevented by screening for precancerous cells, and it can also be cured if it is detected at an early stage. Over the past few decades the number of cervical cancer cases has declined dramatically due to a more widespread screening of the disease. Today, it is estimated that 10,000 new

The most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) is human papillomavirus (HPV) (CDC, 2013). Over half of sexually activity people will become infected with HPV at some point in their lifetime (National Cancer Institute, 2012). HPV can fall into two categories: low-risk HPV and high-risk HPV (National Cancer Institute, 2012). Low-risk HPV, also known as HPV types 6 and 11, cause about 90% of genital warts (National Cancer Institute, 2012). High-risk HPV, also known as HPV types 16 and 18, causes about 70% of cervical cancer (National Cancer Institute, 2012).

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a widespread sexually transmitted infection. Approximately 14 million Americans are infected with HPV each year ("HPV Vaccine for Preteens and Teens,"). HPV also causes several types of cancers, such as vaginal cancer and anal cancer. More than 27,000 women and men are affected by a HPV-related cancer annually ("The Link Between HPV and Cancer,"). The most common HPV cancers for women and men are cervical cancer, and oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers, respectively. Research has demonstrated that many cancers caused by HPV can be prevented by the HPV vaccine, which is administered in 3 doses over 6 months ("The

Almost all cervical carcinomas are caused by Human papillomavirus (HPV). Cervical cancer can be a life-threating disease. However, over recent years the occurrence of cervical cancer has declined as well as the chance of dying from it. A huge contributing factor to this decline is the importance of a regular pap smear. A pap smear can find cervical pre-cancer before it turns into cancer. Recently, a vaccine for HPV, has been on the market, which provides close to a 100% protection against pre-cancer and general warts. HPV and cervical cancer are two disease that are closely related. However, each disease effects not only similar populations, but also different populations, as well as having its own signs and symptoms, detection procedures,

HPV stands for genital human papillomavirus. It is a sexually transmitted virus and according to the Centers For Disease Control (CDC), “More than half of sexually active men and women (in the United States) are infected with HPV at some time in their lives.” (CDC) The National Cancer Institute says there are more than 200 types of HPVs. (Institute) At least 12 of those HPVs cause certain types of cancer, like vaginal and cervical, and genital warts. If you have an HPV virus it usually goes away on its own, and doesn’t have any symptoms. But if it doesn’t go away experts say it is responsible for many of the 10,000 yearly cases of cervical cancer, causing 4000 deaths each year. (CDC)

The symptoms of cervical cancer are not always obvious thus the introduction of NHS cervical screening programme. The aim of the NHS Cervical Screening Programme is prevent the number women who die from cervical cancer each year due to not having early diagnoses. Since the introduction of the programme, a report was done between the NHS Cervical Screening Programme and Trent Cancer Registry it found that “Incidence and mortality rates in England have fallen considerably over the past 20 years. During this period, incidence rates decreased by over a third and mortality rates reduced by 60%. Survival, following a diagnosis of cervical cancer has improved in England since the 1980’s from the 83% to 88%”. (NHS, 2012, pp. P10-11).

There are upwards of forty types of HPV. Along with the genital areas HPV can infect the mouth and throat. HPV can cause genital warts and cancer. It can sometimes go away by itself and people who have it can be asymptomatic. HPV can be passes through genital contact, vaginal sex, anal sex and even oral sex. This can be passed both heterosexually and homosexually. Rarely, pregnant women can pass HPV on to her baby during delivery. According to the CDC 79 million Americans now have HPV and 14 million new cases are found each year. It has become so common that nearly all sexually active people will have at least one type of HPV in a lifetime. 10,300 women per year are diagnosed as having cervical cancer. HPV can be prevented by condom use and having safe monogamous sex

Did you know there is more of a link between cervical cancer and HPV than smoking and lung cancer? Cervical cancer is currently the fourth most common cancer in women and the second leading cause of death from cancer in women. Along with those statistics, human papillomavirus is the most common sexually transmitted viral disease amongst men and women worldwide. The prevalence of women having a strain of HPV that ultimately leads to or increases the chance of cervical cancer is highly relatable. What is pathophysiology, signs, symptoms, prevention, and treatments of this ailment? You might ask will be covered in the next few pages of this paper.

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a double -stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) virus that only infects humans with an attraction to both cutaneous and mucosal surfaces such as the cervix, anus, tonsil, and oropharynx (Clark, 2013). HPV is a type of oncogenic virus that goes into the cells and can cause several diseases. Over the years, research has surfaced connecting genital HPV to several types of cancer. There are over a hundred strains of HPV but the most high risk strains, 16 and 18, have been shown to cause vulvar, vaginal, anal, and the most concerning, cervical cancer (Chan, Ng, & Wong, 2012). Genital HPV

Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) accounts for the third most prevalent cancer in females worldwide,15 as it is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI).2 There are more than 100 subtypes of HPV; 16 of those subtypes are known to be high-risk.15 HPV is a crucial precursor to cervical cancer in 99.8% of those affected,2 with subtypes 16 and 18 being the most common types.15

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

Although there are several known risk factors for getting cervical cancer, no one knows exactly why one woman gets it and another doesn't. One of the most important risk factors for cervical cancer is infection with a virus called HPV (human papillomavirus). HPV is a sexually transmitted disease that is incredibly common in the population, one study showed that 43% of college age women were infected in a 3-year period. HPV is the virus that causes genital warts, but having genital warts doesn't necessarily mean you are going to get cervical cancer. There are different subtypes, or strains, of HPV. Only certain subtypes are likely to cause cervical cancer, and the subtypes that cause warts are unlikely to cause a cancer. Often, infection with HPV causes no symptoms at all, until a woman develops a pre-cancerous lesion mostly of the cervix. Because infection with a STD is a risk factor for cervical cancer, any risk factors for developing STD are also risk factors for developing cervical cancer. Women who have had many or several male sexual partners, having sexual intercourse at an early age, or have had male sexual partners who are considered high risk (meaning that they have had several sexual partners and/or began having sexual intercourse at an early age) are at higher risks for developing Cervical

In the United States, it is one of the eight-most common cancer of women. According to researches, the data shows that Hispanic women are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with cervical cancer than the general population and their median age at diagnosis is 48. In 1998, about 12,800 women were diagnosed in the US and about 4,800 died. Among cancers of the female reproductive tract, it is less common than endometrial cancer and ovarian cancer. The rates of new cases in the United States was 7 per 100,000 women in 2004. Cervical cancer deaths decreased by approximately 74% in the