Do genital warts cause cancer?
There are over 100,000 cases of genital warts treated each year in GUM clinics of England & Wales. Cervical cancer is rare, less than 2,000 cases per year. Most genital warts are caused by types 6, 9, 11 and are of no consequence. Types 16, 18, 33 have been associated with cancer but then only if present for a long time and coupled with other factors ie. smoking. Only a minority of women with these specific virus types will go on to develop cancer of the cervix. If they do then it generally progresses at an extremely slow rate. It is therefore felt unnecessary to perform smear tests more frequently than every 3 to 5 years. A woman with a wart on her cervix usually is recommended to have a colposcopy performed to closer look at it and possibly take a biopsy, to more fully assess the situation.
