It has been deduced that about two-thirds of Americans who are healthy are infected with Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). It is heard that a few of the strains they carry are of high-risk types that cause cancer, according to the new research.
According to U.S. National Cancer Institute, the high-risk HPV strains of types 16 and 18 cause virtually all cervical cancers. They are known causes of most of anal and vaginal, penile, oral and vulvar cancers. Also, it is known that most infections with high-risk HPVs do not cause cancer as per the experts.
DNA samples from four areas ie. skin, vagina, mouth, and gut were collected for the study by investigators at the NYU Langone Medical Center in NYC. The samples were taken of 103 men and women between the ages 18 to 80 and stored in U.S. National Institute of Health Database. The findings of the research were that about 69% of the individuals were infected with 1 or more of 109 of 148 known strains of HPV.
Out of that, just 4 individuals had either of the 2 HPV types that caused most cases of cervical cancer. Some were throat cancers and genital warts as per the study authors.
The HPV infections detected were 61% in the skin, with 30% in the mouth, with 17% in the gut and 41% in the vagina. 71 people were infected with HPV, 59% had HPV in 1 organ, 31% had HPV in 2 organs, 10% had HPV in 3 organs and none had HPV in all four organs.
According to the findings, the highest number of HPV strains were found in the skin – there were 80 types of HPV along with 40 found in the skin. The second highest HPV strains were found in the vagina, 43 types of HPV with just 20 to the vagina. This was followed by the mouth with 33 HPV types with five exclusive to the mouth. The gut had six types of HPV all of which were found in other organs.
Identifying Cervical Cancer Symptoms
Cervical cancer is known to occur when a few abnormal cells on the cervix start to grow out of control. The cervix is the lower area if the uterus that opens into the vagina. Cervical cancer is often known to be treated when it is detected initially. It is detected by the PAP test.
It is one of the most common cancers in women all over the world. In the U.S and other countries, there is cervical cancer screening on a routine basis. So, it is not quite common there.
There are cervical cancers that are mostly caused by a virus called HPV – human papillomavirus. You can acquire HPV by having a sexual contact with a person who has it. Many types of HV virus are prevalent. All of the types of HPV do not cause cervical cancer. A few of the cause genital warts and other types may not even cause any symptoms.
A lot of adults have been infected with HPV at some point in their life. An infection might go away but sometimes it causes genital warts and leads to cervical cancer. It is hence important for women to go through regular PAP tests. A PAP test finds changes in the cervical cells much before they turn into cancer. If this is treated on time, you can prevent cervical cancer.
The abnormal cervical cell changes seldom cause symptoms. You may have symptoms if
these cell changes start to grown into cervical cancer. The symptoms are:
- Discomfort or pain during sex
- Pain in the pelvis or lower belly
- Vaginal discharge
- Bleeding from the vagina after sex or after menopause
When you do your regular pelvic exam, you should do a PAP test, During this test, the doctor scrapes a sample of cells from the surface of the cervix to look out for cell changes. If a PAP test shows abnormal cell changes, the doctor will do other tests to find for precancerous or cancer cells on your cervix.
Your doctor might take a sample of tissue (biopsy) while doing the PAP test, to see if you have symptoms of cervical cancer, such as bleeding after sex.
The treatment for cervical cancer at most stages include:
- Radiation therapy
- Chemotherapy
- Hysterectomy and removal of pelvic lymph nodes with or without the removal of fallopian tubes and ovaries.
On how much the cancer has grown, you could do your treatments. You could go for a combination of treatments. If you have a hysterectomy surgery you will not be able to conceive. But this surgery is not always needed, especially when cancer is detected at an early stage.
Knowing that you have cancer could devastate your life. You might feel like your life has ended already. Talking it out with family, friends or a counselor could help you. You doctor will know of support groups. Call the American Cancer Society (1-800-227-2345) or visit their website at www.cancer.org.
