Last Update: January 22, 2023, 18:44 IST
Most sexually-active women contract the infection, with or without symptoms, at some point in their lives.
India has the highest incidence of cervical cancer as every year 1.25 lakh women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and more than 75 thousand die from it.
Despite being largely preventable, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women in India. India Cervical cancer has the highest number of cases as every year around 1.25 lakh women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and more than 75 thousand die of this disease in India. A large proportion (more than 95 percent) of cervical cancer is caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). Dr. Gautam Wankhede, Director, Medical Affairs, Mylab Discovery Solutions, lists 10 facts about human papillomavirus (HPV).
Human papillomavirus is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI). HPV can be transmitted through skin-to-skin sexual contact, so transmission does not require sexual intercourse.
Read also: Cervical Health Awareness Month 2023: All You Need to Know
Most sexually-active women contract the infection, with or without symptoms, at some point in their lives. However, in 9 out of 10 people who get HPV, the infection will clear up on its own, making the chance of cancer very low.
There are more than 200 types of HPV, of which about 14 types are considered high risk for causing cancer.
HPV 16 or 18 causes 83 percent of invasive cervical cancers and it takes 15–20 years from contracting the infection to developing cancer. Four out of five cervical cancers reported in India are due to infection with HPV types 16 and 18.
The most effective prevention strategy for cervical cancer is systematic screening of women along with treatment and HPV vaccination.
Several screening methods such as Pap-smear, visual inspection with acetic acid, and HPV DNA testing are used for early detection and prevention of cervical cancer.
DNA-based testing for HPV is thought to be more effective than other commonly used screening methods. In this test, cells from the vagina and cervix are tested using a polymerase chain reaction or PCR test (the same PCR test used for COVID or tuberculosis) to check for HPV DNA. If positive, further evaluation for cervical cancer is needed, but if negative, the likelihood of cervical cancer is almost zero and, more importantly, clinical hysterectomy in the next five years. The chances of getting cervical cancer are negligible.
While there are vaccines today that can greatly reduce the risk of HPV, they cannot neutralize the virus in people who are already infected.
Vaccination doesn’t replace cancer screening – even if you get the HPV vaccine, you need to get screened for cervical cancer.
All women between the ages of 21-65 should have regular Pap smears every 3 years. If a woman is tested for HPV DNA, the test interval can be extended to 5 years.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)