Does being infected with human papillomavirus mean that you will definitely get cervical cancer?

Author: Sun Xiaoguang, Chief Physician, Peking Union Medical College Hospital

Reviewer: Bai Wenpei, Chief Physician, Beijing Century Altar Hospital, Capital Medical University

With the popularization of medical knowledge, many people have come to understand that cervical cancer is a tumor with a very clear cause.

We now know that more than 90% of cervical cancer is caused by human papillomavirus.

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1. What is human papillomavirus (HPV)?

Human papillomavirus, abbreviated as HPV in English, is the full name of Human papilloma virus.

This virus particle is very small, 50 nanometers. If we imagine intuitively, if these viruses are arranged together, 20,000 viruses will be about 1 millimeter in size, so this virus particle is very, very small.

There are more than 200 types of HPV viruses that have been discovered. More than 100 of them have nothing to do with sex and are usually transmitted through skin contact, and the remaining more than 40 are related to sexual behavior and are transmitted through sexual contact.

Among the more than 40 types of HPV viruses that are transmitted through sexual intercourse, there are high-risk and low-risk types. The so-called high-risk type is mainly responsible for a very high risk of causing cervical cancer, while the low-risk type does not cause cervical cancer, but can cause benign lesions such as condyloma acuminatum in the reproductive organs.

We have now confirmed that there are about 15 high-risk viruses and more than 10 low-risk viruses. Therefore, we can also understand that being infected with human papillomavirus does not mean that you will definitely get cervical cancer.

2. What symptoms will appear after infection with human papillomavirus (HPV)?

Many patients ask, "I don't have any symptoms, how can I have HPV infection?" Doctors often tell them that even if you have cancer, you may not have any symptoms. When you have symptoms, it is usually in the late stage of cancer. So some people think that if I don't have symptoms, I don't need to be checked. This is a very wrong understanding.

In fact, after being infected with HPV, there may be no symptoms for a long time, but some people do have symptoms:

The first symptom is infection with low-risk HPV virus, which will cause the appearance of some nipple-like, verrucous, cauliflower-like, twig-like warts, or flat warts on the external genitalia. That is to say, infection with different types of viruses may have different manifestations. If a pathological examination is performed, it will be found that it is a benign lesion, not cancer.

The second manifestation is infection with high-risk HPV virus. Patients may not have symptoms for a long time. Symptoms will only appear when the organ becomes cancerous. For example, cervical cancer will cause bleeding during intercourse in the early stage. Some people do not care about this symptom. They just don’t care if there is a little bleeding after intercourse and no other symptoms. Finally, when it becomes serious, they go to the hospital for examination and find out that it is cervical cancer.

There are other symptoms. Some people have dry coughs, and some people don't care about coughing up blood. In fact, it is laryngeal cancer. Now it is found that some laryngeal cancers are caused by HPV infection. Why? Because of oral sex. Laryngeal cancer and tongue cancer, these cancers have symptoms, and everyone should also be vigilant.

3. How to prevent infection with human papillomavirus (HPV)?

First, HPV vaccine. It is now believed that vaccination with HPV vaccine can even prevent 90% of HPV infections. Moreover, this vaccine has been approved by the FDA, the Food and Drug Administration of the United States, proving that it is a safe and effective way to prevent HPV infection.

Second, condoms. Some HPV viruses are transmitted through sexual contact and close contact of the skin and mucous membranes, but condoms do not cover every area, they only cover important areas, and they are designed for contraception, so HPV can still be infected in areas not covered by condoms. Therefore, condoms cannot provide complete protection, but they can provide 70% protection, so the use of condoms is also very necessary.

Third, people aged 21-65 who are very sexually active should undergo regular screening and cervical cancer prevention examinations, and have HPV tests at regular intervals. This will help detect HPV infection and cervical precancerous lesions early, so that further measures can be taken in time to block the damage caused by the HPV virus.

It is a long process for the cervix to develop from HPV infection to cervical cancer. During this process, if you find it at any stage, you should examine your past lifestyle, what caused the virus infection, how to prevent it in the future, and at the same time improve your immunity and try to use the body's immune ability to eliminate it. Or if it has developed to the level of precancerous lesions or cancer, you should actively seek medical treatment and treatment, so regular screening is also very important.

Fourth, simplify sexual relationships. Having a reliable and unique sexual partner can avoid or reduce the chance of HPV infection to the greatest extent.

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Everyone must remember these four methods.