Repeated Human Papillomavirus Infection Predicts Precursor Lesions.(cervical lesions)

2002 JAN 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- It is common knowledge that women who suffer from cervical cancer have also shown thin, flat shaped papillomas in the vagina and outer cervix.

Contrary to any of the many varieties of genital warts caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV), the few cancer-associated forms of papillomas are almost invisible. Thanks to regular annual Pap tests it is possible to detect an HPV lesion likely to cause cervical cancer.

This knowledge comes from case-control studies of the most common sexually transmitted disease. Although crucial to the detection and cure of cervical cancer, these case-control studies do not provide information on the dynamics of cumulative or persistent exposure to HPV infection.

From a public health point of view, it would be useful to know whether or not repeated incidences of HPV infections correlate with subsequent cervical cancer incidence since the ability to predict such an occurrence will help decision makers in the allotment of resources.

Now, according to the results of a longitudinal epidemiological study led by Professor Eduardo L. Franco, director of the McGill Division of Cancer Epidemiology, published in the December 26, 2001, edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association it seems there is indeed such a correlation to be made between these two incidences.

From 1993 to 2000, Franco and his team of epidemiologists and oncologists from McGill University, Sao Paulo's Ludwig Institute for Cancer ...