Cervical Cancer Prevention & Risk Factors

More than 90 percent of cervical cancers today are caused by infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV), a virus so common that more than two-thirds of sexually active women are infected with it at some point.

In part because cervical cancer tends to grow so slowly, there are a number of measures that a woman can take to prevent it from spreading and becoming advanced:

• Have regular Pap smears to screen for any changes in the cells of the cervix.
• Use condoms regularly to protect yourself from getting HPV.
• Discuss HPV vaccination with your doctor.

Preventing HPV with Condoms
Other than the presence of genital warts, there is no way of knowing whether a sexual partner is infected with HPV. While condoms do not provide complete protection — HPV can spread through physical contact with infected areas of the mouth, genitalia, and anus. Using condoms regularly also protects against various other sexually transmitted diseases.

HPV Vaccination
The vaccine specifically targets HPV types 16 and 18, which cause about 70 percent of cervical cancer cases, and types 6 and 11, which cause approximately 90 percent of cases of genital warts. The vaccine can only be used to prevent an HPV infection; it is not meant for women who already are infected.

Other Risk Factors
In addition to infection with the HPV virus, factors that increase the risk for cervical cancer include:

• Having first sexual intercourse at an early age
• Having many sexual partners
• Giving birth to three or more children
• Smoking cigarettes (this produces chemicals that can damage cervical cells)
• Using oral contraceptives
• Being infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS

Women without HPV infection or any of these other risk factors rarely develop cervical cancer.