Human Papillomaviruses and Cancer: Questions and Answers

National Cancer Institute
U.S. National Institutes of Health
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/
factsheet/Risk/HPV
Reviewed: 06/08/2006

1. What are human papillomaviruses, and how are they transmitted?
Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are a group of more than 100 viruses. They are called papillomaviruses because certain types may cause warts, or papillomas, which are benign (noncancerous) tumors. The HPVs that cause the common warts which grow on hands and feet are different from those that cause growths in the throat or genital area. Some types of HPV are associated with certain types of cancer (1). These are called “high-risk” oncogenic or carcinogenic HPVs.
Of the more than 100 types of HPV, over 30 types can be passed from one person to another through sexual contact. Although HPVs are usually transmitted sexually, doctors cannot say for certain when infection occurred. Most HPV infections occur without any symptoms and go away without any treatment over the course of a few years. However, HPV infection sometimes persists for many years, with or without causing cell abnormalities. 

Vaccine Protects Against Virus Linked to Half of All Cervical Cancers

National Cancer Institute
U.S. National Institutes of Health
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/
factsheet/Risk/HPV
Posted: 11/26/2002 Reviewed: 02/08/2005

Key Words: cervical cancer, human papillomavirus (HPV), prevention, vaccine. (Definitions of many terms related to cancer can be found in the Cancer.gov Dictionary.)

An experimental vaccine prevented women from becoming persistently infected with a virus that is associated with half of all cervical cancers, researchers reported in the November 21, 2002, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (see the journal abstract of the study). 

The National Women’s Health Information Center
U.S. Depertment of Health and Human Services
Office on Women’s Health

Cervical Cancer
June 2006

http://womenshealth.gov/faq/ccervix.htm

What is cervical cancer?
Cancer is a disease in which certain body cells don't function right, divide very fast, and produce too much tissue that forms a tumor. Cervical cancer is cancer in the cervix, the lower, narrow part of the uterus (womb). The uterus is the hollow, pear-shaped organ where a baby grows during a woman's pregnancy. The cervix forms a canal that opens into the vagina (birth canal), which leads to the outside of the body.