#JFK RELOADED ORAL SEX SERIES#
To be most effective, the vaccine series should be given before a person becomes sexually active (has sex with another person).Īmerican Cancer Society recommendations for HPV vaccination The vaccines can only be used to help prevent HPV infection – they do not stop or help treat an existing infection. HPV vaccination can help prevent more than 90% of HPV cancers. These vaccines are approved for use in females and males and are given as a series of injections (shots). Vaccines are now available to help protect children and young adults against infection from the main cancer-causing HPV types. You can get more details in HPV and Cancer. Other genital infections may also increase the risk that HPV will cause cancer. Smoking, which is also linked with these cancers, may work with HPV to increase cancer risk. HPV also has a role in causing cancers of the penis, anus, vagina, vulva, mouth and throat. See HPV and HPV Testing for more information on this topic. But there is a vaccine that can help prevent it. If the HPV causes abnormal cells to start growing, these cells can be removed or destroyed. Even though doctors can test people with a cervix for HPV, there is no treatment directed at HPV itself. Nearly all individuals with cervical cancer show signs of HPV infection on lab tests. This can keep cancer from developing.ĭoctors can now also test for HPV as part of cervical cancer screening, which can tell them if someone might be at higher risk for cervical cancer. These pre-cancer cells can then be destroyed or removed, if needed. This test can show pre-cancer in cells of the cervix that might be caused by HPV infection.
Cervical cancer has become much less common in the United States because the Pap test has been widely available for many years. HPV and cervical cancerĪ few types of HPV are the main causes of cervical cancer, which is the second most common cancer among women worldwide. But in most people, the body’s immune system controls the HPV infection or gets rid of it over time. There are no effective medicines or other treatments for HPV, other than removing or destroying cells that are known to be infected. HPV infections of the mucous membranes can cause genital warts, but they usually have no symptoms. However, some people with long-lasting infections of high risk types of HPV, are at risk of developing cancer. Most people infected with HPV will not develop a cancer related to the infection. While HPV infections are very common, cancer caused by HPV is not. At least a dozen of these types are known to cause cancer. Most sexually active people are infected with one or more of these HPV types at some point in their lives. More than 40 types of HPV can be passed on through sexual contact. Some types of HPV only grow in skin, while others grow in mucous membranes such as the mouth, throat, or vagina.Īll types of HPV are spread by contact (touch). They are called papillomaviruses because some of them cause papillomas, which are more commonly known as warts.
Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are a group of more than 150 related viruses. But these vaccines can only protect against infections if they are given before the person is exposed to the cancer-promoting virus. Our growing knowledge of the role of viruses as a cause of cancer has led to the development of vaccines to help prevent certain human cancers. Several viruses are linked with cancer in humans. (For example, the viruses that cause the common cold only infect the cells lining the nose and throat.)
In general, each type of virus tends to infect only a certain type of cell in the body. When the DNA or RNA affects the host cell’s genes, it can push the cell toward becoming cancer. Some viruses do this by inserting their own DNA (or RNA) into that of the host cell. A virus must enter a living cell and take over the cell’s machinery in order to reproduce and make more viruses. They are made up of a small number of genes in the form of DNA or RNA surrounded by a protein coating. Viruses are very small organisms most can’t even be seen with an ordinary microscope.