High-Risk HPV and Cervical Cancer Symptoms and Signs

The papillomavirus family of viruses infects a number of different animals, including humans. The virus infects the stratified epithelium of its host’s skin exclusively 

There are approximately 200 strains of human papillomavirus (HPV); over half of these are asymptomatic. 20 percent of HPV strains can be spread through sexual contact while 30 strains can cause genital infections. It is worth noting that however that while nearly all cases of cervical cancer begin as HPV infections, the vast majority of HPV infections do not turn into cervical cancer.

It’s very likely that most sexually active men and women will contract HPV at some point in their lives. In the majority of these cases, the infection will clear up on its own without medical intervention. A small group of women, however, will go on to develop pre-cancerous lesions that, if left untreated, can progress to invasive cervical cancer over a 15 to 20 year period. HPV strains that can develop into cervical cancer are called high-risk HPV viruses, and the two most commonly implicated in cervical cancers are Types 16 and 18.

The screening test for detecting cervical cancer is called the Papanicolaou or Pap smear. Pap smears are very effective instruments for identifying potentially precancerous cancer cells. Once the precancerous lesions are identified, they can be treated.

High-Risk HPV Signs and Symptoms

Some HPV infections of the genital and anal areas cause noncancerous skin growth called warts. About 90% of all genital warts are caused by either HPV 6 or HPV 11. 

Genital warts most often occur in clusters. In men they most often appear at the tip of the penis; in women, they can appear on the labia or inside the vagina as far back as the cervix.

Genital warts are highly contagious and can easily be spread between sexual partners even when partners are asymptomatic.

There’s no distinct set of symptoms associated with a high-risk HPV infection as opposed to any other type of HPV infection. The first clue to a high-risk HPV infection is usually provided when a Pap smear shows abnormal results. The woman’s physician will then order a test to check the DNA profile of the underlying HPV infection. Even if the HPV infection turns out to be one of the 13 high-risk strains associated with the development of cervical cancer, it doesn’t mean the woman has cervical cancer. But her physician will almost certainly want to monitor her more carefully. 

The safe sex guidelines that provide protection against many other sexually transmitted diseases are not effective when it comes to genital HPV infections. Using condoms may lessen the risk of developing an HPV infection but it will not eliminate it entirely because the HPV virus can infect genital areas that are not protected by condoms.

The most effective preventive treatments for genital HPV is the Gardasil vaccine, designed to protect girls and women between the ages of nine and 26 from high-risk strains of HPV including HPV 6 and HPV 11.