Herpes,
HPV May Spell Cervical Cancer
Study
finds combo may create higher risk for women
New
research suggests that herpes and another common sexually transmitted
virus can be a deadly combination, raising the risk that infected women
will develop cervical cancer.
The
findings seem to explain why some women are more prone to cervical cancer.
"We
know that HPV (human papillomavirus) causes cancer, but a lot of people
have HPV and never get cancer," explains Stephen E. Hawes, an assistant
professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington at Seattle
and author of a commentary on the new study.
Pap
Tests Stop Disease In Its Tracks
An
estimated 13,000 American women fall victim to cervical cancer each
year and 4,100 will die, according to the American Cancer Society.
However, tests known as Pap smears (also called Pap tests) let many
more stop the disease in its tracks before it becomes serious. Deaths
from the cancer dropped by 74 percent from 1955 to 1992, after the tests
became popular.
Scientists
think at least 90 percent of cervical cancer cases are caused by HPV,
which may be the most common sexually transmitted disease. HPV causes
inflammation, which makes the cervix more hospitable to cancerous cells
by preventing them from dying naturally, Hawes explains.
"This
process can take years to develop - 20 to 30 years after you have your
initial HPV infection," he says.
Herpes
Makes Matters Worse
Some
scientists have suspected that herpes could make things worse. An international
group of researchers tested that theory by examining medical records
from seven countries of 1,263 women with cervical cancer and 1,117 women
free of the disease.
The
findings appeared in a recent issue of the Journal of the National
Cancer Institute.
The
researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer
found signs of infection with herpes simplex virus 2 in about 44 percent
of the women with cancer, but only in 26 percent of the other women.
They
also found HPV in nearly 95 percent of the women with cancer, but only
in 15 percent of the healthy women. Of all women who were infected with
HPV, herpes increased their risk of cervical cancer by two to three
times.
Dr.
Tom Wright, a pathologist at Columbia University, says the findings
confirm those of a 1991 study in Latin America. However, it is still
unclear how herpes works to make women more susceptible to cervical
cancer since the virus does not cause as much dangerous inflammation,
he adds.
There
is hope for the future, however. "The biggest issues right now are the
development of vaccines to prevent infection with high-risk types of
HPV and new molecular tests to identify those women at greatest risk
for developing cervical cancer," he says.
Always
consult your physician for more information.
Online
Resources
American
Cancer Society
American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
CA:
A Cancer Journal for Clinicians
International
Agency for Research on Cancer
Journal
of the National Cancer Institute
National
Institutes of Health
The
New England Journal of Medicine
|
December
2002
Pap
Tests Stop Disease In Its Tracks
Herpes
Makes Matters Worse
New
Cervical Cancer Detection Guidelines Issued
Vaccine
May Avert Cervical Cancer
Online
Resources
Find
a St. John's Mercy Physician
In
Other Women's Health News:
New
Cervical Cancer Detection Guidelines Issued
Concerned
that many women are over-screened and over-treated for possible cases
of cervical cancer, the American Cancer Society has
issued new guidelines that revise standards for when and how often
women should get early detection tests.
Under
the new guidelines:
-
Cervical
cancer screening should begin about three years after a woman
begins having vaginal intercourse, but no later than at age 21.
-
A
Pap test should be performed every two years. At or after age
30, women with three consecutive normal Pap tests may get screened
every two to three years. A physician may want to screen more
frequently if a woman has the HIV virus that causes AIDS, or if
she has other conditions that leave her with a weakened immune
system.
-
Women
70 or older with at least three normal Pap test results and no
abnormal ones in the last 10 years can choose to stop cervical
cancer screening.
-
Screening
after a total hysterectomy—including removal of the cervix—is
unnecessary, unless the procedure was performed as a result of
cervical cancer. Women who have had a hysterectomy that does not
include removal of the cervix should be screened according to
the guidelines above.
The
new guidelines are published in the November/December issue of CA:
A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
Always
consult your physician for more information.
Vaccine
May Avert Cervical Cancer
The
likelihood that cervical cancer will become less of a killer has taken
a huge step forward.
Researchers
report a perfect success rate for a vaccine against a virus responsible
for half of all cases of the disease, which is the second-leading
cause of cancer deaths among women worldwide.
More
than 30 varieties of the human papillomavirus (HPV) have a clear link
to cancer. While most cases of HPV resolve on their own, the remaining
ones are responsible for over 90 percent of all cervical cancers.
HPV-16,
the variety for which the vaccine was created, infects 20 percent
of adults. HPV-16 is also the strain most commonly linked to cancer,
and is present in 50 percent of all cervical cancers.
The
results appear in a recent issue of The New England Journal
of Medicine. Another article in the same issue of the journal,
however, reports a lower level of effectiveness for a vaccine against
herpes simplex virus type 2 (genital herpes): The vaccine was 73 percent
to 74 percent effective for women.
Genital
herpes affects one in five women in the United States, but does not
lead to cancer.
Always
consult your physician for more information.
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