HPV and Cervical Cancer

Statistics

According to HPV Information Center United States of America has a population of 140.5 million women ages 15 years and older who are at risk of developing cervical cancer. Current estimates indicate that every year 13545 women are diagnosed with cervical cancerand 5706 die from the disease. Cervical cancer ranks as the 14th most frequent cancer among women in United States of America and the 4th most frequent cancer among women between 15 and 44 years of age. About 3.9% of women in the general population are estimated to harbour cervical HPV-16/18 infection at a given time, and 71.2% of invasive cervical cancers are attributed to HPVs 16 or 18.

The human papillomavirus is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the United States, with an estimated 24 million active cases and 5.5 million new cases each year, according to the National Cancer Institute. Various strains of HPV cause the great majority of cases of cervical cancer. Despite this fact, public ignorance about HPV is high. Recent studies have shown that there are high levels of HPV infection among women, with the highest levels among young women, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 70 percent of American adults 18 and older have never heard of HPV. Furthermore, most (89 percent) have never discussed the issue with their health provider. Although cases of HPV are not formally reported in the United States, available data from the CDC indicate that at least 75 percent of the reproductive-age population has been exposed to the sexually transmitted HPV. Fifteen percent of Americans ages 15 to 49 are estimated to be infected.

In Mexico according to recent studies 90 percent of Mexican women have ever had HPV in their life, considered one of the main factors for developing cervical uterine cancer.

In Mexico, according to IMSS (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social) in 2020 cervical cancer was the second most diagnosed and the second cause of death in women, with an estimated 9,439 new cases every year and 4,335 deaths. An incidence rate of 12.6 and a mortality rate of 5.7 per 100 thousand, although with respect to 2012 a significant decrease in incidence is observed.

Mexico has a population of 49.6 million women ages 15 years and older who are at risk of developing cervical cancer. Cervical cancer ranks the 3rd most frequent cancer among women between 15 and 44 years of age. About 4.1% of women in the general population are estimated to harbour cervical HPV-16/18 infection at a given time, and 65.0% of invasive cervical cancers are attributed to HPVs 16 or 18.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, exceeded only by heart disease. One of every five deaths in the United States is due to cancer.

Important: timely treatment will help to avoid cervical cancer, save your organ and life, and get the joy of motherhood.

HPV of a highly oncogenic type leads to dysplasia (16,18,31,33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 68). HPV increases the risk of cervical cancer by more than 35%. HPV in combination with cervical erosion increases the risk of cervical cancer by more than 80%.

What is dangerous

There are almost no signs of HPV, there are no signs of erosion for a long time, until the degeneration of cells from normal to pathological begins. When dysplasia forms, symptoms such as:

· copious vaginal discharge with or without an unpleasant odor,

· excessive bleeding from the vagina after sexual contact or vaginal procedures (douching, vaginal examination, swabbing) appear.

Therefore, it is very important to undergo an annual examination, even if you have no complaints.

Proper and timely diagnosis helps prevent the disease or detect it at an early stage.

Treatment and success rate

The success of treatment, as a rule, in such cases is:

· with dysplasia, the effectiveness is achieved in 41.3% (when using only laser therapy),

· A negative HPV test is achieved in 81.2% of patients (using only laser therapy),

· with erosion during the full course (15-18 procedures), effectiveness is achieved in 94% of cases.

With complex treatment, which includes ozone therapy vaginally and intravenously and laser therapy the effectiveness increases 2-2.5 times.

Risk groups

Risk groups for the occurrence of cervical diseases should include women who:

have started sexual life early,
with frequent changes of sexual partners,
who have menstrual disorders,
who have previously undergone inflammatory processes of the genitals.

Taking into account the favorable effect of low-level laser illumination on reparative tissue regeneration, epithelialization, reduction of the excudative phase of the inflammatory process, acceleration of collagen maturation and stimulation of microcirculation, laser therapy has proved to be an effective method of treating diseases of the cervix, vagina and vulva.

Vaccination

Vaccination against HPV makes sense only before the onset of sexual activity and the absence of the papilloma virus in a woman's body. There are also age restrictions (from 9-12 years and before the beginning of sexual activity). After the onset of sexual activity, it is necessary to first diagnose for the presence of HPV. If the test is negative, then there are no contraindications to the vaccine.