Will there be any cure for HPV in the near future?

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

• Cervical cancer is the name of the disease caused by HPV (human papillomavirus) and this is leading cancer in women of our country and the second most common cancer worldwide. This means its frequency is very high here.

• The women at risk are 15 years of age and above. The population in this age group is above 366 million women. Every year, unfortunately, over 75,000 women die of cervical cancer. That accounts for almost one-third of the cervical cancer deaths worldwide. From these facts, you can well imagine, how prevalent this disease is in this region of the world.

Hope this helps. Please feel free to ask more if you need further assistance. I would be happy to answer any queries.

For further queries consult an internal medicine physician online --> https://icliniq.com./ask-a-doctor-online/internal-medicine-physician

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

• Yes, two types of cervical cancer vaccines are available along with other methods, to prevent the disease. Fewer individuals affected means fewer cases. But there are controversies debatable due to cost effectiveness, patient compliance for screening and vaccination especially the booster dosages. There are many cervical cancer research programs working to assist the population with prevention and cure of the disease.

• The most effective way to prevent the disease is lifetime mutual monogamy and abstinence. There is no single treatment or cure available for genital warts caused by sexually transmitted HPV infection. Warts usually go away on their own although we can also remove visible lesions until the body's immune system clears off the viruses.

• Cervical cancer needs treatment and the goal is to eliminate the bad cells (dysplastic lesions).

• Sometimes, there are no clear-cut symptoms and the disease is then called 'subclinical'. We do not treat that. If the visible warts are treated and they are all gone, even then there is a high rate of recurrence as the virus remains hidden in the normal healthy skin around the lesions.

• Among eradication methods for the lesions, surgical excision, cryotherapy, and chemical ablation are some.

• There are a lot of medications to treat patients to some extent. But there is no definitive single drug of choice that can cure all the patients with HPV today. Maybe in the near future, we may produce some magical drug. But the most effective way will still be prevention in the first place as this virus is difficult to treat and the recurrence rate is also high.

Hope this helps. Please feel free to ask if you have more queries. I would be happy to assist.

For more information consult an internal medicine physician online --> https://icliniq.com./ask-a-doctor-online/internal-medicine-physician

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

Thanks for your kind words.

• Genital lesions (warts) and cutaneous lesions can be diagnosed clinically just by examining the patients. Lesions that are difficult to detect can be tested with acetic acid test and by performing a biopsy of the lesion. Genital carcinomas may also involve colonoscopy to see the extent of the disease.

• Yes, HPV DNA can be detected by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and it is reliable.

• The other method to detect DNA of the virus is Hybrid Capture II (HC II). We can also determine the specific subtype or strain of virus (the genotyping) via DNA hybridization studies. We can also detect antibodies against HPV through ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) test.

• Some new inventions in HPV tests are under development phase include DNA chip, Linear Array, and cycle sequencing.

Hope it helps. Thanks again.

For more information consult an internal medicine physician online --> https://icliniq.com./ask-a-doctor-online/internal-medicine-physician