Oncology & Cancer

HPV-linked throat cancer may have telltale first symptoms

(HealthDay)—The first symptoms of throat and mouth cancer—also known as oropharyngeal cancer—may differ depending on whether the condition is caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), a small study suggests.

Oncology & Cancer

Scientists find new way to block cancer-causing HPV virus

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is the main cause of several cancers, including cervical cancer, which kills almost 300,000 women around the world each year. Although vaccines offer a proven first line of defense against HPV ...

Health

CDC: Most teen immunizations on the rise

(HealthDay)—Vaccination coverage in youths for tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) and meningococcal conjugate (MenACWY) has been increasing since 2009, but there is still a ways to go before achieving the ...

Health

US recommends routine HPV vaccination for boys

US health authorities on Friday urged all boys age 11-12 to get a routine vaccination against the most common sexually transmitted disease, human papillomavirus, or HPV.

Medical research

Conundrum solved over HPV link with head and neck cancer

A major international trial published in The Lancet Oncology has looked at studies from 13 head and neck cancer centers from nine countries around the world. Using the data of 7,895 patients, a research team has found that ...

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Human papillomavirus

Alphapapillomavirus Betapapillomavirus Gammapapillomavirus Mupapillomavirus Nupapillomavirus

A human papillomavirus (HPV) is a papillomavirus that infects the epidermis and mucous membranes of humans. HPV can lead to cancers of the cervix, vulva, vagina, and anus in women. In men, it can lead to cancers of the anus and penis.

Approximately 130 HPV types have been identified. Some HPV types can cause warts (verrucae), but those types don't cause cancer. Other types can cause cancer, but those types don't cause warts. Other types have no symptoms and are harmless. Most people who become infected with HPV do not know they have it.

About 30-40 HPV types are typically transmitted through sexual contact and infect the anogenital region. Some sexually transmitted HPV types may cause genital warts. Persistent infection with "high-risk" HPV types—different from the ones that cause warts—may progress to precancerous lesions and invasive cancer. HPV infection is a cause of nearly all cases of cervical cancer. However most infections with these types do not cause disease.

Most HPV infections in young females are temporary and have little long-term significance. 70% of infections are gone in 1 year and 90% in 2 years.

A cervical Papanicolaou (Pap) test is used to detect abnormal cells which may develop into cancer. A cervical examination also detects warts and other abnormal growths which become visible as white patches of skin after they are washed with acetic acid. Abnormal and cancerous areas can be removed with a simple procedure, typically with a cauterizing loop.

Pap smears have reduced the incidence and fatalities of cervical cancer in the developed world, but even so there were 11,000 cases and 3,900 deaths in the U.S. in 2008. Cervical cancer has substantial mortality in resource-poor areas; worldwide, there are 490,000 cases and 270,000 deaths.

HPV vaccines, Gardasil and Cervarix, which prevent infection with the HPV types (16 and 18) that cause 70% of cervical cancer, may lead to further decreases.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA