Cervical cancer is the second most common malignant tumor in women besides breast cancer. In recent years, with the popularization of publicity, more and more people begin to know that cervical cancer is related to a virus called HPV (Human Papillomavirus).
More than 90% of cervical cancer patients are infected with HPV [1]. Infection with HPV means a higher risk of cervical cancer.
Most people will be terrified if the test shows positive for HPV one day. At this time, you may regret why you didn’t fly to Hong Kong and Macao to get HPV vaccine before. People with rich imagination may even begin to imagine in their minds that they are terminally ill.
However, HPV positive is not as horrible as people think, and should not be used by some bad hospitals as a means of collecting money. Let’s talk about this issue in detail.
HPV positive, not that scary
HPV positivity is indeed related to the occurrence of cervical cancer, so although HPV vaccines are not yet on the market in China, many professionals recommend qualified women to be vaccinated as soon as possible to reduce the risk of cervical cancer to a certain extent.
In fact, most people have been infected with HPV. According to statistics, about 80% of adult Americans will be infected with HPV at least once in their lifetime [2], and there are no relevant data in China.
However, even if what does not do so, 90% ~ 95% of HPV virus will be automatically removed by the human immune system within 1 ~ 2 years.
In other words, in most cases, HPV positive will not lead to cervical cancer.
Why do you want to do HPV test?
HPV examination can detect cervical precancerous lesions in a more timely manner, and its sensitivity is sometimes even higher than that of cervical smear examination, and it is helpful to eliminate false positive results of cervical smear examination.
When the cervical smear examination shows ambiguous results, if the HPV examination shows negative results, the possibility of malignant diseases can be basically ruled out, and only the cervical smear needs to be reviewed one year later, which can save a lot of unnecessary worries and more examination costs.
If both cervical smear and HPV tests are negative, you can basically rest assured that the risk of cervical cancer in this situation is very small. If these women have a healthy lifestyle (such as balanced diet, regular exercise and safe sex), they do not even need to have cervical smear tests every year, and can be reexamined after 3 years.
Many people have the opportunity to be infected with HPV, and in most cases HPV virus can be automatically removed by human body. Therefore, international guidelines actually do not recommend HPV testing for women under 30 years old.
The significance of HPV examination is that if you know that you are infected with the virus, you should keep observation during the period of carrying the virus, and if you find any abnormalities, you can deal with them in time to prevent progress towards canceration.
If the same subtype of HPV has been infected for more than two years, vigilance is needed.
HPV examination alone is not enough
HPV tests sometimes show false positive results. Moreover, positive HPV tests do not mean that they have suffered from terrible cervical precancerous lesions, but may only be infected with HPV virus.
However, HPV positive cannot be regarded as nothing.
When HPV tests and cervical smear results indicate possible problems, Need regular review of cervical smear. However, HPV examination and cervical smear are only examination methods, and doctors may sometimes suggest colposcopy or even cervical biopsy to make a definite diagnosis according to the situation. Colposcopy can directly enlarge and observe small lesions located on the cervix through the lens, and early detection and treatment can be carried out.
Again, HPV positive does not mean cervical cancer. The purpose of HPV examination is to detect cervical precancerous lesions at an early stage and prevent cancer at an early stage.
What about high-risk HPV?
At this time, some readers may ask another question: I have HPV high-risk type, high-risk! It is very dangerous, different from the HPV positive mentioned earlier.
In fact, high-risk HPV may still be removed by the body’s immune system. Don’t panic too much. You should cooperate with doctors to carry out further examination and keep observation.
HPV has more than 100 types and usually does not cause any disease. If it causes disease, the most common is hand and foot wart.
More than 40 HPVs are transmitted through the reproductive tract [3]:
- Low-risk HPV: Some of these are low-risk HPV, which will not cause cervical cancer, but may lead to genital condyloma acuminatum or very weak cervical cell changes. High-risk HPV: There are 13 common high-risk HPV types, of which HPV16 and HPV18 are the most common, and about 70% ~ 75% of cervical cancer are related to these two types [4].
Can I still be pregnant if I am infected with HPV?
You can get pregnant.
There are many statements about HPV infection that you cannot get pregnant, and even some doctors say so. For these people, I can only say that they are either cheats or too backward in knowledge.
HPV is a very common sexually transmitted virus. As mentioned earlier, 80% of people who have sex in the United States will be infected with HPV at least once in their lives. Can’t so many people be pregnant? Mothers infected with HPV will not affect fetal development. Although newborns may be infected at birth, just like adults infected with HPV, most infants will remove the virus themselves.
There is also no scientific basis for the claim that what infected with HPV cannot have sex and give birth smoothly.
Correctly Understanding and Actively Responding to
Infection with HPV is certainly more likely to develop cervical cancer than non-infection, but it cannot be said that cervical cancer will definitely occur as long as HPV is positive.
In other words, just like driving at ordinary times, first of all, you need to be able to get in touch with the car before you can encounter an accident, but it cannot be said that people who can get in touch with the car will have an accident.
After HPV infection, the human immune system will attack the virus, and in most cases the virus will be removed within 1-2 years. Even if HPV virus is not removed, regular cervical smear examination and colposcopy can help detect cervical precancerous lesions in time and kill cancer in its infancy.
One thing that needs to be reminded is that At present, there is no treatment method for HPV virus itself. If the examination finds HPV positive, some bad doctors tell you that you can use some drugs to remove the virus, which is definitely a hoax. Of course, if it is aimed at diseases caused by HPV virus, such as genital warts, hand and foot warts, etc., it can be treated. This is the so-called “cure disease without cure virus”.
Be sure to go to a regular hospital and follow the doctor’s advice. You should do cervical smear, cervical smear, colposcopy and colposcopy. You should also remember to have regular reexamination.
After reading these, I hope readers will know it’s time to do some what when they find themselves HPV positive.
By yidan
This article has passed the peer review of Dr. Clove’s peer review expert committee.
Clove Garden is exclusively authorized and cannot be reproduced without permission.