cancer - breast cancer treatment

hpv hereditary and virgin

2008-01-17T06:07:00.000-08:00

Is HPV Hereditary

While HPV is not hereditary, meaning it is not genetically passed from parent to child, it can be passed from mother to child during childbirth. This is a rare occurrence, however.

Can a Virgin Get HPV?

HPV is is transmitted through both sexual intercourse and sexual contact. Because genital contact can occur without penetration, it is possible for a virgin to contract HPV.

HPV can also be transmitted during childbirth from mother to baby, although this is considered to be rare.

hpv and pregnancy

2008-01-17T06:01:00.000-08:00

HPV and Pregnancy

How HPV Affects Pregnancy and Birth. Pregnancy and an HPV infection can certainly complicate a pregnancy.

Pregnancy can cause genitals warts to grow at a fast rate potentially causing the birth canal to be blocked or making urination difficult for the mother. This can be a reason for a c-section if the birth canal is obstructed. However, a c-section is not usually performed if only active genital warts are present.

Rarely a mother can pass on warts and the HPV infection to the child. If it does occur, the child more commonly develops warts in the mouth and throat. It can be potentially life threatening to the child, but is treatable.

HPV is a Common Virus

HPV is extremely common, affecting up to 80% of women. There are over a hundred different strains if HPV, with a few strains responsible for genital warts.

HPV can be dangerous because it does cause cervical cancer. Most women, however, with HPV never develop cancer. In fact, most cases of HPV clear up on their own. It is important to have a regular Pap smear to detect any abnormalities caused by an HPV infection.

How Do I Know if I Have HPV?

HPV can be diagnosed visually if genital warts are present. There is also a HPV test available for women that can determine if HPV is present and if the strain is a high risk, potentially cancer causing type.

hpv treatment

2008-01-17T05:54:00.001-08:00

HPV Treatment

How is HPV Treated?

Unfortunately, there is no universal HPV treatment. For most cases of HPV, there is no recommended treatment unless genital warts are present or abnormal cervical changes have been detected by a Pap smear. HPV treatment depends on whether the HPV has caused genital warts or cervical dysphasia.

Treatment of genital warts include prescribed at home topical creams, freezing or burning the warts, and other in office treatment. Keep in mind that genital warts do not pose any major health risk and are not related to cervical cancer.

Changes to the cervix detected through abnormal pap smears can be treated in a variety of ways. The goal of treating cervical abnormalities is by removing the affected tissue before it becomes cancerous.

This is commonly done by a LEEP procedure. Depending on the extent of the cervical abnormality, other treatment methods may be used, including surgery.

Most cases of HPV that cause abnormal Pap smears require no treatment. They generally go away on their own within two years. It is important to follow up on abnormal Pap smears to ensure the cervical dysphasia is not getting worse.

hpv to throat cancer

2008-01-15T10:09:00.000-08:00

Study Links HPV to Throat Cancer

A new study from Johns Hopkins University has found between the human papilloma virus [HPV] and oropharyngeal cancer, more commonly known as throat cancer. The findings confirm that oral sex is a risk factor for throat cancer, although the risk is relatively small.

The study, published in the May 10th edition of The New England Journal of Medicine, studied 100 people who were diagnosed with oropharyngeal cancer. Two hundred people without the disease were also included in the study.

What the Study Found

Besides confirming the HPV link to throat cancer, the study concluded:

having a large amount of vaginal sex partners over a course of a lifetime [more than 26 partners] is linked to the development of throat cancer

people with a large amount of oral sex partners [more than 6] were three times more likely to develop oral cancer

oral cancer is strongly associated with HPV-16, a strain of the virus that is also associated with cervical cancer in women

heavy smoking and drinking does not increase the risk of developing throat cancer with people with HPV, even though both are risk factors for the disease

What Does This Mean for You?

Throat cancer is considered to be uncommon and a small percentage of people with HPV develop cancer because of the virus.

The finding does not suggest abstaining from oral or vaginal sex. Even though the risk is considered to be small, practicing safe oral sex is still extremely important to prevent the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.

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hpv

2008-01-15T09:40:00.000-08:00

What is HPV?

Human Papilloma virus, more commonly known as HPV, is a viral infection spread through skin to skin sexual contact. HPV is a group of over 100 different viruses, with at least 30 strains known to cause different types of cancer. There is currently no cure for HPV.

HPV is a common virus. There are 40 types of it that are sexually transmitted.

A few types of HPV can persist and cause cervical cancer.
There is a vaccine to prevent two of the types that cause 70 percent of the cases of cervical cancer.
Regular Pap tests are important - even for women who have been vaccinated. They detect dangerous cell changes before cancer develops.

HPV stands for human papilloma virus. There are more than 100 types of HPV. Some types produce warts - plantar warts on the feet and common hand warts. Some affect the genital sex organs.

Some types may cause genital warts. These are called low-risk types.
Some types may cause cell changes that sometimes lead to cervical and certain other cancers. These are called high-risk types. They do not usually have visible symptoms.
Most types seem to have no harmful effect at all.

How Can You Get HPV

HPV is transmitted by skin to skin contact through vaginal, anal and oral sex with a partner who already has HPV. If infected, signs and symptoms may take weeks, months and even years to appear. Symptoms may never appear.

Symptoms of HPV

Symptoms of HPV normally appear in the form a cauliflower like growths called genital warts. These warts may also be flat.

They can be found on the inside and the outside of the vagina. These growths may take weeks or even years to show after having sex with an infected partner. Again, they may appear show at all.

How Do I Know If I Have HPV?

An HPV test can be done to determine if a person has HPV. Testing samples of cervical cells is an effective way to identify high-risk types of HPVs that may be present. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA] has approved an HPV test that can identify 13 of the high-risk types of HPVs associated with the development of cervical cancer. There is currently no test to determine if a man has HPV.

Preventing HPV

Abstaining from any type of sexual realtions is ideal in preventing HPV, but not very realisitc these days for adults. Wearing a condom provides limited protection. The male condom provides limited protection. Keep in mind that since HPV may not show any visible symptoms, your partner may still be infected.

HPC Causes Cervical Cancer: HPV is a Risk Factor for Cervical Cancer

Having many sexual partners is a risk factor for HPV infection. Although most HPV infections go away on their own without causing any type of abnormality, infection with high-risk HPV types increases the chance that mild abnormalities will progress to more severe abnormalities to cervical cancer.

Still, of the women who do develop abnormal cell changes with high-risk types of HPVs, only a small percentage would develop cervical cancer if the abnormal cells were not removed. Studies suggest that whether a woman develops cervical cancer depends on a variety of factors acting together with high-risk HPVs. The factors that may increase the risk of cervical cancer in women with HPV infection include smoking and having many children.

What are the high risk strains of HPV? Many of the strains that are dangerous to cervical health can be identified with a test. The strains most associated with cervical cancer are 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 68, 69, and possibly a few others. Keep in mind that the risk is still relatively low that cancer will develop.

Cancer

2007-12-30T19:24:00.000-08:00

Cancer:

A new study by scientists from the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, done with laboratory mice, found that supplements of a key phytochemical found in certain vegetables provided a very high level of protection against leukemia and lymphoma in young animals, and also significantly protected against lung cancer during the rodent's equivalent of middle age.

Cancer:

The research, published in the journal Carcinogenesis, is one of the first of its type to demonstrate that diet may play a protective role in a fight against cancer that may begin -- and could be won or lost -- well before a person is ever born. And some of the protective benefits may last into adulthood.

Cancer:

"Research of this type is still in its infancy, but it's pretty exciting," said David Williams, an LPI researcher and director of the Marine and Freshwater Biomedical Sciences Center at OSU.

Cancer:

"There's strong epidemiologic evidence that infant cancers can be caused by exposure of the fetus to carcinogens, either during pregnancy or by nursing," Williams said. "Among all childhood deaths in the U.S., cancer is second only to accidents as the leading cause, and the fetus and neonate are sensitive targets for toxic carcinogens. It would be important if we could affect this through maternal diet."

Cancer:

There are particular concerns about common environmental pollutants called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, which can be produced by cigarette smoking or the combustion of organic materials such as wood, coal, cooking oil or diesel fuel. Exposure of a fetus to PAHs has been shown to cause DNA damage in newborns and is also associated with increased levels of childhood leukemia. It has also been shown that a significant portion of the total lifetime exposure to PAHs and other toxins, including PCBs and dioxins, is transmitted to the fetus across the placental barrier and during nursing.

Cancer:

In laboratory studies, researchers exposed pregnant mice to a single high dose of one PAH called dibenzopyrene, a potent carcinogen, and about 80 percent of their 100 offspring died early in life from an aggressive T-cell lymphoma. Of those that survived to the mouse-equivalent of middle age, 100 percent had lung tumors.

Cancer:

By comparison, in a group of pregnant mice given the same carcinogen but who also received the chemoprotective supplement Indole-3-carbinol, or I3C, deaths from lymphoma were cut in half, and the number of lung tumors later in life was significantly reduced.

Cancer:

"It's clear that in mice this supplement provided significant protection against lymphoma and, later on, lung cancer," Williams said. "It's also worth noting that none of the infant mice received the protective supplement later in their life, at any stage beyond breast feeding. The protective effect of the compound came solely from maternal intake during pregnancy and nursing, but lasted into the animal's middle age. This is somewhat remarkable."

Cancer:

Although lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women, it's also true that only about one smoker in 10 gets lung cancer. It's possible, researchers say, that dietary and other factors in addition to smoking may predispose some smokers to get cancer while others don't. That this process may begin with carcinogens crossing the placental boundary -- and might be affected by diet -- is an area that has not been adequately studied, Williams said. In this study, both the exposure to carcinogens and the levels of Indole-3-carbinol given to pregnant mice through supplements were higher than those that would ordinarily be found in the environment or a normal diet, researchers said.

Cancer:

scientists do not recommend that pregnant women take supplements of this compound, which is available in health food stores, because there have been questions about its possible role in causing birth defects when ingested at high levels in the first trimester of pregnancy. That topic needs further study, they said.

Cancer:

However, the amounts of this and other valuable phytochemicals that could be obtained in any normal diet rich in cruciferous vegetables should be safe and useful, they said. These vegetables include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, radishes, turnips and other types of greens and cabbages.

Cancer:

Indole-3-carbinol is also being studied by scientists in other U.S. research programs for chemoprotection of women against breast cancer.

Cancer:

Cancer chemoprotection is one of the main research areas at the Linus Pauling Institute, a world leader in the study of vitamins, phytochemicals and other nutrients that may help prevent disease or provide optimum health.

Cancer:

This research was funded by the National Institutes of Health