What is HPV?What you need to know about vaccines and cancer risk

CNN: What does HPV cause?

Debbie Suslow: Almost everyone gets infected with HPV someday, and most people have no symptoms. Depending on the type of HPV, it can cause skin warts, it can cause genital warts, and it can cause cancer.

The types of HPV that cause cancer are transmitted primarily by sexual activity because they are transmitted by close skin-to-skin contact. The most common HPV cancer in women is cervical cancer. Some women may not be familiar with the cervix, but many go to an obstetrician and gynecologist to screen for cervical cancer on the Papanicolaou test or HPV test. The most common HPV cancer in men is laryngeal cancer, but it can also occur in women. It is in the oropharynx behind the throat and tonsils. The other four cancers are anal cancer in men and women, penile cancer in men, and vulvar and vaginal cancer in women.

Post-coital pain and abnormal bleeding are two symptoms of cervical cancer, although screening is so common in the United States that not many people reach the onset of symptoms.

CNN: How can I reduce my chances of getting HPV?

Saslow: Vaccination can prevent over 90% of HPV cancers and over 90% of genital warts. Recommended for boys and girls between the ages of 9 and 12, but people up to the age of 26 can also be vaccinated.

Secondary prevention for women aged 25-65 years with the cervix is ​​screening for cervical cancer. Finding it and treating or removing the cancer or cervix can actually prevent the cancer.

The recommended screening method is an HPV test every 5 years. Unlike the Papanicolaou test, the HPV test predicts the future. For example, if the cells in the cervix are normal but someone is HPV positive for the second consecutive year, it indicates that the infection can progress to precancerous cancer.

If the HPV test is negative, the chances of getting cervical cancer within the next 5 or 10 years are almost zero.

There is no recommended HPV screening for men because men do not have an HPV test. The only exception is anal cancer. This is not a national recommendation, but anal screening may be used for men who have sex with men. Condoms may slightly reduce the risk of HPV infection. It is advisable to use them anyway to reduce the risk of other viruses.

CNN: If someone has sex with multiple partners, should that person take the test more often?

Saslow: People who are sexually active with multiple partners at once are at increased risk of getting HPV, but when they are infected with HPV, they are not at higher risk of getting precancerous or cancer earlier than those who are infected with HPV. .. Mutual monogamous partners.

The risk is higher, but the screening interval does not change. The timing from HPV infection to precancer is 10 years, so 5 years between screenings is really safe. The time from HPV infection to exposure to cancer is close to 20 years, so we have a lot of time to find it.

CNN: What do you say to parents who are worried that vaccination will make their children sexually active sooner?

Saslow: There are many studies showing that it is not true at all. There are studies asked by researchers, have there been differences in the number of sexually transmitted diseases, the age at which people started having sex, or unintended pregnancies, and the overall answer is no.

For parents who think it’s true, when you teach them how to drive without wearing a seatbelt, do you talk to them because you will speed them up? You don’t do that, and it’s exactly the same logic as the HPV vaccine.

Recently, we changed the wording of the guidelines to strengthen vaccination recommendations at age 9. You can start before you are told to vaccinate at age 11 or 12 or at age 9. Now he is 9-12 years old. We provide vaccinations to children aged 9 or 10 and parents are not thinking about their sexuality. When a child is 11 or 12, it’s a place where parents tend to go.

CNN: Should college students get the HPV vaccine?

Saslow: Even if the vaccine is not given by the age of 12, it is recommended until the age of 26. Adults up to the age of 45 can ask their healthcare provider about the vaccine, but in college, around the age of 18, the effect drops significantly.

College is a good time to get those who missed or parents chose not to vaccinate their children. That way, the person can make his own choice.

By the time you graduate from college, the vaccine is less effective. This is mainly because people are already infected with HPV and the vaccine only works before you are exposed.