How can people prevent HPV-related diseases?
There are ways to prevent the possible health effects of HPV, including the two most common problems: genital warts and cervical cancer. • Preventing genital warts: A vaccine (Gardasil) is available to protect against most genital warts in males and females (see above). • Preventing Cervical Cancer: There are two vaccines (Cervarix and Gardasil) that can protect women against most cervical cancers (see above). Cervical cancer can also be prevented with routine cervical cancer screening and follow-up of abnormal results. The Pap test can find abnormal cells on the cervix so that they can be removed before cancer develops. An HPV DNA test, which can find HPV on a woman’s cervix, may also be used with a Pap test in certain cases. Even women who got the vaccine when they were younger need regular cervical cancer screening because the vaccine does not protect against all cervical cancers. • Preventing Anal and Penile Cancers: There is no approved screening test to find early signs of penile
