Human Papillomavirus and Cervical Cancer

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Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and Cervical Cancer It is well established that persistent infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV) is associated cervical cancer. Large studies have shown that HPV is present in up to 90% of cervical cancers (Bosch et al, 1995). There are many types of HPV, the HPV-16 variety is seen in about half of all cases. A Swedish case-control study (Wallin et al, 1999) indicates that women with smear tests which are HPV DNA-positive (ie. contain genetic material from the virus) are at increased risk of developing invasive cervical cancer in the future. They found that women who developed cervical cancer had the same type of HPV DNA in smear tests at and prior to diagnosis. This provides further evidence for a causal association between HPV and cervical cancer. It also indicates that the use of HPV DNA testing technologies may be a valuable addition to the early detection / prevention of cervical cancer in the future. Selected references Wallin KL, et al. Type-Specific Persistence of Human Papillomavirus DNA before the Development of Invasive Cervical Cancer N Eng J Med 1999; 341:1633-8    Related articles Bosch FX, et al. Prevalence of human papillomavirus in cervical cancer: a worldwide perspective. International biological study on cervical cancer (IBSCC) Study Group. J Natl Cancer Inst 1995; 87(11):796-802    Related articles (PubMed) Ho GY, et al. Natural history of cervicovaginal papillomavirus infection in young women. N Engl J Med. 1998; 338(7):423-8    Related articles (PubMed) Schoell WM, et al. Epidemiology and biology of cervical cancer. [Review] Semin Surg Oncol. 1999; 16(3):203-11    Related articles (PubMed) Murakami M, et al. Human papillomavirus vaccines for cervical cancer [Review] J Immunother 1999; 22(3):212-8    Related articles (PubMed) Medline Search: human papillomavirus AND cervical[TI] AND cancer (PubMed)   Limit search to: [Last Year]  Limit search to: [Last 2 Years]   Limit search to: [Reviews] Related topics See also Viruses and Cancer Topic last revised: 25/11/1999