How does genital HPV cause the development of cancer?
The majority of genital HPV infections never cause any symptoms and in most cases the immune system usually clears the infection in a few months. However, when the infection becomes persistent – as it does in a small number of women – it can lead to pre-cancerous cell changes in the cervix. The progression from a normal cervix to pre-cancerous cell changes takes many years in most women and not all women with cell changes go on to develop cervical cancer. Regular cervical screening tests will pick up cell changes that could potentially progress to cancer.
