The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is a very frequent virus among all sexually active men and women. It is the cause of cervical epidermoid cancer or cervical cancer.
For this reason, for some years now, screening for cervical dysplasia and premalignant lesions in the cervix has become quite routine. In addition, the papillomavirus vaccine has been introduced in women from the age of 12, because from that age onwards they are likely to start having sexual relations.
This is a virus that can affect a person once or several times in his or her life, but in the immunocompetent population, the person’s natural immunity manages to eliminate it. However, in certain groups (patients immunosuppressed by transplants, chronic diseases, immunosuppressed by drugs or immunosuppressed by HIV) the virus can persist, causing lesions not only in the neck, but also in other organs such as the anal canal or pharynx.
How is it transmitted?
It is transmitted sexually, by direct contact through genitals, but also genital-oral or oral-oral. In other words, it is possible to be infected in the oral cavity and transmit it.
What are the pathologies it can cause?
The presence of the Human Papilloma Virus is related to cervical carcinoma and, for this reason, in recent years screening has been oriented with the aim of reducing the frequency of cervical cancer.
However, it has also been seen that it is very frequent to produce, up to 90%, epidermoid cancers of the anal canal.
It is also related to tumors located in the oropharynx area, which were tumors that had always been related to the use and abuse of tobacco and alcohol. In recent years, there has been a very important increase in this type of tumors without a history of tobacco or alcohol consumption. In this type of cancer, the presence of the Human Papilloma Virus has been detected in more than 50% of the cases.
So, right now, it has been seen that it can produce a multitude of pathologies in different areas, in different mucous membranes, all of them related to the presence and persistence of the Papilloma Virus.
What is the treatment to be followed?
There is no treatment for the presence of the virus. Generally, an immunocompetent person eliminates the virus within a period of time, since immunity is good enough to eradicate the virus.
Even so, there are groups of patients who are immunosuppressed for various reasons (due to HIV, or immunosuppressed by drugs, patients with chronic inflammatory diseases, autoimmune diseases, transplant recipients) who find it more difficult to eliminate the virus.
It is the persistence of the virus that, in the long term, can lead to precursor lesions of cancers. For this reason, the appearance of these precursor lesions must be monitored and, if they appear, treated.
In this sense, in neck cancer, conizations are performed and in anal canal carcinoma, these precursor lesions can be excised or treated with drugs to prevent the development of a carcinoma.
How can it be prevented?
The best way to prevent it is to have safe sexual relations, with protection. And in the case of women it is necessary to be vaccinated from the age of 12. Men should also be vaccinated from the same age, because they are the ones who transmit the virus to women and because it has also been seen that they can also suffer from other types of tumors related to the presence of the Human Papilloma Virus.
And, on the other hand, controlling possible lesions, especially in certain groups: immunosuppressed, HIV and also the homosexual group in the case of carcinoma of the anal canal, since they suffer from it very frequently and it is necessary to monitor and control it.