If cigarette smoking is a hazard as it brings 10 times increase risk of lung cancer, the study has shown that woman infected with HPV has 300 -500 times chances to develop cervical cancer (Wallboomers JH, et al. J Pathol 1999). Scientists has identified many types and strains of HPV, however not all HPV types cause cervical cancer. The type of HPV that causes cervical cancer is HPV 16, 18, 45, 33, and 31. This type of HPV not only cause cancer of the cervix but also anus, vagina, vulva, mouth and oro-pharynx.
But the question is how does a woman get HPV infection? HPV infection is acquired through skin to skin contact, largely through sexual intercourse. It is sexually transmitted like any other sexually transmitted diseases. Any sexually active woman is at risk of HPV exposure in their life time but the following group of women are at high risk of acquiring the HPV infection.
1. Sexually active young women (20 - 24 years old)
2. Women with multiple sex partners
3. Women with partner who has multiple sex partners (including polygamous man with many wives)
4. Women who had sexual intercourse at very young age
5. Women who smoke
6. Women who use contraceptive pill for longer term
How does HPV causing cervical cancer? Cervical cancer does not happen overnight but it takes 10 - 15 years after a woman is infected with HPV to develop cancer. It causes pre-cancer lesion of the cervix that can be detected by pap smear and can be treated.
very well written Dr Sharifah! well done.
ReplyDeletei think its a good idea to go for cervical cancer vaccine....here the info
The first vaccine for cervical cancer was approved in Malaysia a few years ago. This vaccine is a huge step forward for science, but will issues of morality stop us from protecting our children and ourselves?
But we have been fire fighters all along; unable to really safeguard ourselves from falling prey to a disease that has snatched so many family members, relatives and friends from our lives.
Now, all that is changing. A vaccine for preventing a form of cancer in women is finally available in more than 40 countries around the world.
The world’s first cervical cancer vaccine, developed by Merck Co & Inc, was given the green light by the US Food and Drug Administration in June this year, and just received regulatory approval in Malaysia earlier this month.
With this vaccine that targets the most dangerous, cancer-causing types of the human papillomavirus (HPV), women will have some form of immunity against a disease that kills a quarter of a million women around the world every year.
A combined analysis of all the four clinical trials shows that the vaccine:
# Prevented 100% of cervical pre-cancers and non-invasive cervical cancers (CIN 2 and 3).
# Prevented 100% of vulvar and vaginal pre-cancers caused by HPV types 16 and 18.
# Prevented 95% of low-grade cervical lesions (CIN 1) and pre-cancers (CIN 2 and 3) caused by HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18.
# Prevented 99% of genital warts caused by HPV 6, 11, 16 and 18.“With this vaccine, we’ve also demonstrated the longest duration of efficacy of any cervical cancer vaccine to date. We saw that through five years of follow-up, the vaccine prevented 96% of HPV 6, 11, 16 and 18-related infections and disease,” says Dr Sattler.
Thanks Rihana for the comment and extra infomation. Yes you are right, that's why we need to educate our people so to improve their level of awareness that help them to make a right choice.
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