The human papillomavirus (HPV) is everywhere. It's estimated to be the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. More than 5 million new cases of HPV are diagnosed each year, and 20 million Americans are already infected. By age 50, at least 80 percent of women will have acquired HPV infection.
There are more than 100 different strains of the HPV virus. About 30 of these are spread through sexual contact. Of these 30, some are classified as high risk or low risk. Some types cause genital warts -- small bumps in the genital area.
Many people with HPV will have no symptoms. Some forms of HPV can cause abnormal Pap smear results and could lead to cancers of the cervix, vulva, vagina, anus or penis.
Cervical cancer can be caught in the earliest stages when cells are just beginning to show signs of abnormal growth. But if women don't have regular Pap smears or if the abnormal cells are not caught, this cancer can be deadly. In 2000, 12,800 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer, and there were 4,600 deaths. Doctors now believe almost every case of cervical cancer is caused by an HPV infection.
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HPV vaccine
Doctors believe almost every case of cervical cancer is caused by an HPV infection, and say all girls should be vaccinated.
 
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The treatment of cervical cancer is often very complicated. Dr. Alfred Jenkins, a gynecological surgeon at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Orlando, said the cost to women with this cancer is often more than just money. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation are often needed.
Jenkins said the more advanced the cancer is, the harder it is to treat. Removal of the cervix and uterus will leave patients sterile, a devastating consequence to women who wish to have children. There is a new procedure that spares the uterus, but it is not yet widely available and is only for women who have very early stage cancer. Women who have this procedure, called a radical vaginal trachelectomy, will have a high-risk pregnancy if they conceive. They will also need to deliver via cesarean section.
A new vaccine may prevent most cervical cancers from ever happening. The federal government has recommended that girls at about age 12 be vaccinated. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices also decided that girls as young as nine and women up to age 26 can be vaccinated.
Health experts say the vaccine will be most effective if given to women before they are sexually active. The growing and changing cells of a young woman's cervix are most vulnerable to HPV. It's recommended that 11- or 12-year-old girls get three doses of the new vaccine. The vaccine is highly effective against four types of the HPV virus, including two that cause about 70 percent of cervical cancer.
