What virus can cause cervical cancer?
1 Answer
Human Papilloma Virus ( HPV ) infection appears to be involved in the developement of more than 90 % of the cervical cancers.
Explanation:
About a dozen HPV types are called high risk types because persistent infection has been linked to cancers of the vulva, vagina, cervix, penis and anus.
HPV induced cancers arise when viral sequences are accidentally integrated into the DNA of the host cells. Some genes ( immediate early genes ) carried by the HPV virus, act as oncogenes , that promote tumor growth and malignant transformation.
Most HPV infections of the cervix are cleared rapidly by the immune system and do not progress to cervical cancer. The process of transformation of normal cervical cells to cancerous ones is slow. So cancer occurs in people having been infected with HPV over a long period of time ( usually over ten years ).
There are about 150 to 200 types of HPV known. HPV vaccines news protect against between two to seven high risk strains of this family of viruses.
