Patient's Query
Hi doctor,
I have a doubt about cervical cancer. I know that it is caused by HPV. What are the other channels for the entry of a virus into the body apart from sex? If the wife and husband are both virgins at the time of marriage and are sincere after marriage, is there any chance of getting cervical cancer?
Kindly guide.
Hello,
Welcome to icliniq.com.
Cervical cancer is caused principally by two strains of HPV (human papillomavirus) - 16 and 18. Though there are more than 400 serotypes present, only 144 have been identified to date, and of these, high-risk types are 16, 18, 31, 33, 34, 45, 52, and 58, which constitute 90 % of cervical cancer cases. HPV commonly spreads through vaginal or anal sex. It can also pass when the infected person has no signs or symptoms. Though you have been sexually active with only one person, you can get HPV. Even a mere skin-to-skin contact with an HPV infected person can spread HPV. But the fact is, unless the above-mentioned strains are not detected on HPV DNA studies during a pap smear, it is unlikely that you will get cervical cancer.
Even if both of you are virgins and do not have HPV, if you do not have the high-risk strains, you may have other strains of HPV as commensals, which, with regular sex, often can undergo mutation and beget high-risk strains. So, the best is to get an HPV vaccination done before you undertake sexual activity, ideally, else as per guidelines, HPV vaccination should be given to all women between 9-45 age group irrespective of their sexual activity status.
I hope this information helps you.
Feel free to reach out in case of further queries.
Thank you.
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