HPV and Genital Warts
• Definition
· HPV is the Human papillomaviruses.
· Human papillomaviruses is a virus that is contagious and can infect the top layer of skin or mucosal membranes causing a wart to appear.
• Overview
· HPV Human papillomavirus infections can cause no symptoms or can produce warts and infection can be associated with the development of cervical cancer(cancer of the cervix).
· Genital warts are caused by the HPV Human papillomaviruses and are distinct from other common warts that occur on body parts other than the genitals or around the anus and are also distinct from plantar warts that occur on the bottom of the foot.
• Types
· Human Papillomaviruses are the viruses that cause warts and there are greater than 100 types of Human Papillomaviruses.
· Papillomaviruses are distinguished by the type of DNA they contain.
· Warts that occur on the feet are typically caused by the Human Papillomaviruses HPV-1 virus.
· Papillomaviruses that can cause cancer contain a cancer causing gene in their DNA.
· Cervical cancer is associated with infection from the HPV-16 virus.
· Human papillomavirus types that have cancer causing genes and associated with the development of cancer are: HPV 16, HPV 18, HPV 31, HPV 33, HPV 45
• Symptoms
· Human papillomavirus symptoms depend on the location of the infection or wart.
· Warts are usually painless, but occasionally genital warts can cause an itch.
• Complications
· Infections with the high risk types of Human papillomavirus are associated with cancer.
• Treatment
· Human papillomavirus treatment is destroying or removing the skin or mucosal cells that contain the virus.
· Treatment can consist of surgical excision, freezing of the infected tissue, or burning the tissues with chemicals.
· Occasionally topical chemotherapy medication is used to destroy the infected cells.
References
Tjalma WA et al. Role of human papillomavirus in the carcinogenesis of squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the cervix. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2005 Aug;19(4):469–83. [PMID: 16150388]
Luque AE et al: Prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes and relation to cervical cytology among HIV-1 infected women in Rochester, New York. J Infect Dis 194:428, 2006 [PMID: 16845625]
Villa LL et al: High sustained efficacy of a prophylactic quadrivalent human papillomavirus types 6/11/16/18 L1 virus-like particle vaccine through 5 years of follow-up. Br J Cancer 11:1459, 2006
Posted on September 24, 2008
