Many people are still confused about Human Papilloma Virus, known as HPV, and how this common infection can affect their lives. This video helps explain.

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January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, so it’s a good time for an update.  Many of my patients come in to see me wondering about all the new guidelines and how often they need Pap smears.

Why is this important?

• Every year, 11,000 women in the US women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer
• About 4,000 women will die from cervical cancer
• Many more women will be diagnosed with pre-cancerous cervical changes from an HPV infection and require treatment to prevent it from progressing to cancer

What is a Pap Smear?

When a woman has a Pap smear, a very small amount of cells are collected from her cervix. This is usually painless and takes less than a minute. The cells are then evaluated for any changes that could indicate a pre-cancerous or cancerous condition. The cells can also be checked to see if they’ve been infected with HPV, Human Papilloma Virus, which can lead to cervical cancer.

How often should a women have a Pap Smear?

These are the Guidelines from the American Cancer Society

• Begin Cervical Cancer screening with a Pap at age 21
•  Women 21- 29:  Pap smear every 3 years
•  Women 30 – 65:  Pap smear plus HPV co-testing every 3  – 5 years
•  Women over 65: It depends upon their personal medical history and they should check with their providers

Disclosure: I am working with Hologic, the providers of Thin Prep Pap smears and the Aptima HPV assay.

What is HPV?

HPV stands for Human Papilloma Virus, which has over 100 different subtypes. HPV is spread from skin to skin contact.  Some types of HPV can cause warts on the skin, others can infect other parts of the body.

While the vast majority of HPV does not cause serious risks, there are a few high-risk subtypes that can infect a woman’s cervix from intimate contact with a partner. Though most of these high-risk HPV infections are cleared by the body within a few years and don’t become cancerous, about 10% of these can lead to pre-cancerous cellular changes in the cervix and if left untreated or unrecognized could progress to cervical cancer.

How common is HPV?

• There are 14 million new HPV infections each year in the US
• Over 79 million people have been exposed to HPV, which makes it the most common sexually transmitted infection
• It’s estimated that > 80% of women under 50 have been exposed to HPV, so it’s normal to be exposed to HPV
• Most HPV will NOT progress to cancer and be cleared without treatment in 2 to 3 years

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I was at the park the other day with a mom who has daughters in middle and high school.  She has been waiting to have them vaccinated against HPV because of safety concerns.  Like many moms, she was understandably concerned about the short and long term safety of all medications and vaccines.  We discussed the benefits and how to make these kinds of decisions as you weigh the possible risks.

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