HPV Virus

Halcyon · 10-10-2006, 17:55

One for Salu and all the medical minded people I think....

A friend of mine recently told me about the HPV Virus when we were having a chat about the different STD's that people can get.
I know it is an STD of approximately 100 types and that it is passed through sexual intercourse.
He later went on to say that it can cause cancer and that nearly everyone has it.

Is this true ? I guess the way of spreading it would be via unprotected sex and a lot of people do that at some point in their lives.
So I went to google and looked things up. Some people seem to say it can lead to several cancers (mostly of the Cervix) in women, and others in men, including mouth cancer, and cancer of the penis.

Basically it is saying that if you have sex, oral, or any form of sexual contact, it can cause cancer through HPV.

Anything cancer related is scary so I wanted to know if anyone knew much about this.

Thanks.

greencreeper · 10-10-2006, 18:54

Warts. It's not just sex - contact with an infected area is sufficient. Best get the germ warfare suit on early. I think it's only in women there's a supposed link between HPV and cancer

Damien · 10-10-2006, 19:16

I think most people have it but only certain types cause warts and certain types can cause cervix cancer. But I also think that the kind of HPV thats causes the warts in not the same as the one that causes the cancer.

Not sure though.

foreverwar · 10-10-2006, 20:03

hope this helps.

http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default.asp?page=5193
"The human papilloma viruses (HPVs) are a group of more than 70 different types of virus. They are given numbers to distinguish them. HPV's can be transmitted through sexual intercourse. Some of the HPV viruses can cause genital warts - those numbered HPV 6 and HPV 11. These two are sometimes called low risk because they are not associated with cervical cancer.

Some types of HPV are linked to cervical cancer particularly numbers 16, 18, 30 and 33. They are called high risk because just about all cervical cancers are positive for high risk HPV. This association is so strong that scientists in this area think that the very small number of cervical cancers that test negatively for HPV have come about because there was a problem with the HPV testing, rather than because the infection wasn't there in the first place.

On the other hand, many women who are infected with high risk HPVs do not go on to develop cervical cancer. So there are other factors at work too, such as smoking. Women who smoke and have a high risk HPV infection are more likely to go on to get cervical cancer. It is important to remember that regular cervical screening will pick up abnormal cervical cells before they become cervical cancers. So even if you have HPV and smoke, you can prevent cervical cancer."

Halcyon · 10-10-2006, 21:04

I seem to see that it is a risk still, but generally a lower risk than first thought.
There seems to be about a hundred or so varients of it and some, as foreverwar's post outlines, have link with cancer.

Although it does primarily state it could lead to an increase in risk for cancer of the Cervix, I did see that it can affect men too if contact is made. eg.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3485158.stm
However, from what I read, this was not a big factor in the start of the disease and I think my friend is maybe looking into it too much as alcohol and smoking seem to be more of a contributor to cancers.

It seems many people have this and there isnt much you can do to avoid it.

foreverwar · 10-10-2006, 21:05

you could always wear a wetsuit when you go swimming, reduce the chances.

Halcyon · 10-10-2006, 21:13

It seems nearly everything causes cancer these days.
Nowhere is safe.

jrhnewark · 10-10-2006, 21:24

Nearly everything causes cancer. And how could we possibly vaccinate ELEVEN YEAR OLD girls from a STD!??!?! HOW?! How could we save peoples' lives by giving them a vaccine?!

It's ludicrious. If we can save women from cervical cancer from a young age, we bloody well should.

homealone · 10-10-2006, 21:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrhnewark

Nearly everything causes cancer. And how could we possibly vaccinate ELEVEN YEAR OLD girls from a STD!??!?! HOW?! How could we save peoples' lives by giving them a vaccine?!

It's ludicrious. If we can save women from cervical cancer from a young age, we bloody well should.

I couldn't agree more, if a safe vaccine is available I see no problem with it being any more 'sinister' than a german measles vaccine which confers immunity to possible problems, due to contact with the rubella virus during pregnancy

jrhnewark · 10-10-2006, 21:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by homealone

I couldn't agree more, if a safe vaccine is available I see no problem with it being any more 'sinister' than a german measles vaccine which confers immunity to possible problems, due to contact with the rubella virus during pregnancy

Well, that's exactly what I thought straight away. I flicked onto Virgin Radio to hear Martin Collins talking about it - "11-year-old girls?!?!". I'd be chuffed if I had a young daughter.

It's almost as if this country's in denial that all kids grow up to have sex.

**Matt D** · 10-10-2006, 22:40

Around 60% of sexually active people have HPV. Not all show symptoms, yet they can still pass it on. Condoms help cut the risk of transmission, but don't remove it altogether.

Some links on the cervical cancer vaccine story:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5370504.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5411038.stm

And some unnecessary pedantry...

"HPV Virus" is a tautology and an example of "RAS Syndrome" (Redundant Acronym Syndrome Syndrome) - the "V" stands for "virus", so there's no need to say "virus" again.

Other common examples:

"PIN Number" (Personal Identification Number Number)

"HIV Virus" (Human Immunodeficiency Virus Virus)

"ATM Machine" (Automated Teller Machine Machine)

"PAT Test" (Portable Applicance Test Test)

**Maggy J** · 11-10-2006, 00:35

I'm sure I read somewhere that women whom have not been sexually active at all are very unlikely to contract cervical cancer...which makes a connection between STD's and Cervical cancer more likely.

Anyway chaps not only can you get this nasty infection and pass it onto your partner(s) you can get all sorts of other so called girly complaints such as breast cancer.I was watching This Morning(yeah I was that bored) and there was a chap of 25 who had just had a mastectomy.He was only alive because his girlfriend nagged him to go see a doctor about his funny shaped nipple.It took him 6 months to do it.

When I had my last mammogram the operator said that 75% of the men who came for the test went onto die because they had left it too late.

So chaps don't forget to check ALL your bits and bobs or make sure to top and tail.Go to a doctor about any strange lumps even if you do end up looking like a divvy because it wasn't anything to worry about.Better feeling stupid rather being dead.

Salu · 11-10-2006, 09:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Halcyon

One for Salu and all the medical minded people I think....

A friend of mine recently told me about the HPV Virus when we were having a chat about the different STD's that people can get.
I know it is an STD of approximately 100 types and that it is passed through sexual intercourse.
He later went on to say that it can cause cancer and that nearly everyone has it.

Is this true ? I guess the way of spreading it would be via unprotected sex and a lot of people do that at some point in their lives.
So I went to google and looked things up. Some people seem to say it can lead to several cancers (mostly of the Cervix) in women, and others in men, including mouth cancer, and cancer of the penis.

Basically it is saying that if you have sex, oral, or any form of sexual contact, it can cause cancer through HPV.

Anything cancer related is scary so I wanted to know if anyone knew much about this.

Thanks.

It depends what you mean by "and that nearly everyone has it...." The more partners you have had the greater chance you have of inheriting the virus. But not everyone will have it, let alone the worrying types.
Also, only certain types of the virus can cause a malignancy (16, 18 and 33 I belive). To put it into perspective the annual incidence is around 15 in every 100,000 women. I'm not suggesting that we should write off the risk but one needs to keep things in perspective when considering the "scary" factor.

Innoculation against this will be a good thing in my opinion.

Halcyon · 11-10-2006, 10:02

Thanks Salu and everyone else that posted. Some useful information there