Why Does HPV Cause Cervical Cancer?
What is HPV? There are more than 100 strands of the human papilloma virus (HPV), and not all of them cause cancer. Strands of this virus are broken up into “high risk” and “low risk.” Low-risk HPV causes issues including genital warts, or even regular warts. It’s also possible that low-risk HPV will be completely asymptomatic. Though warts can be very inconvenient and bothersome, they’re also treatable and usually pose no great risk. However, high-risk HPV–which the National Cancer Institute identifies as strands 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 66, 68, and 73–are often asymptomatic and can lead to diseases including cervical cancer, among others. It’s usually transmitted via intercourse or oral sex and can live on the genitals, as well as in the larynx of the oral cavity. From there it can be transmitted to others’ genitals through oral sex. Detection of HPV There is no standard protocol for testing for HPV. Although it’s standard practice for some doctors to test for
