There is an approximate 80% occurrence of anal cancer associated with those who have HPV. Other occurrences of HPV in cancer have been seen in tongue and tonsil cancer, non-melanoma skin cancers in those persons who have compromised immune systems. 200,000 infants and children are diagnosed with papillomatosis which is a respiratory infection linked to HPV types 6 and 11.
Men can also have HPV associated cancers and are just as common as those HPV virus's found in women. It is just not as easy to diagnose the HPV virus in men as it is in females. Men can contract the HPV virus when they have sexual contact with the vagina or anal area of a woman who is infected with the HPV virus. Some of the HPV viruses have been known to cause penile or anal cancer in men. Penile cancer is rare though. What are common are the anal cancer rates connected with the HPV virus.
HPV causes 100% of all the cervical cancers. HPV types 16, 18, 31, 33 and 35 are linked to cervical cancer. These are the high-risk HPV's and are linked to anus, bladder and vulva cancer.
The only "symptom" of HPV are the genital warts associated with the infection and these cannot be detected or felt unless they are located in a part of the skin or mucous lining that can be felt by human fingers. If they are located inside the vagina they will go unnoticed. Those that are inside the anus or cervix will also go unnoticed. The warts are hard to notice because they are skin colored and painless. You won’t even notice they are there unless you feel them with your fingers.
Although a Pap test is not a screening tool for the HPV virus; if a abnormal Pap test result is received your health care professional will test you for the HPV virus and any HPV virus positive test should signal the need for regular Pap smear tests. Any abnormal cervical change can be a signal for HPV infection.
Cervical dysplasia is not cervical cancer but can signal the precursor condition for carcinoma in situ or (CIS). Most often dysplasia regresses over time but they can lead to a progression that leads to invasive cervical cancer. Whether it regresses or progresses and why is unclear at this time. It is known that women between the ages of 25 and 34 often have the CIS regression and women age fifty and older will contract the invasive cancer of the cervix. The prognosis for the invasive cervical cancer is dependent on the extent of the disease at the time of diagnosis. The death rate for cervical cancer is high due to the approximately 1/3 of women who do not go for regular yearly Pap smears. Pap smears done on a regular basis will give a woman a better chance of catching cervical cancer early enough to have a better outcome of the disease. Statistics show that 90% of cervical cancer deaths could be avoided if earlier detection through Pap smear test could have occurred.
