Who gets cervical cancer?
Since almost all cervical cancers are caused by HPV, any woman who has sex can get cervical cancer. Most women who’ve had sex have been exposed to HPV at some time in their life. The women at highest risk for cervical cancer are women in whom infection with one of the high-risk types persists for years. Other risk factors for cervical cancer include smoking, multiple sexual partners and HIV infection. Cervical cancer occurs most often in certain groups of women in the United States including African-American women, Hispanic women, white (non-Hispanic) women living in rural New York State and northern New England, American Indian women, and Vietnamese-American women. Hispanic women have twice the rate of cervical cancer compared to non-Hispanic white women. African-American women develop this cancer about 50% more than non-Hispanic white women. These disparities are due, in part, from poor access to health care. The women who are most at risk for the disease are women who do not have re
