One type of HPV virus increases the risk of cancer



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The fact that the HPV virus is at the origin of cancer of the cervix of the uterus has been known for a long time. Now, a new study shows that HPV testing needs to be more accurate and that women with high-risk forms of the virus should be cancerous more often.

A new study from the Karolinska Institute shows that women under 30 years tested positive for two types of human papillomavirus (HPV) have a significantly higher risk of cancer. HPV is a group of viruses with more than 200 different types, of which 16 and 18 are the most common high-risk types.

"We showed that they were positive for HPV 16 or 18, and then they ran a very high risk of developing cellular and cancer changes," says Sonia Andersson, professor of gynecology at the Department of Women's Health and Nutrition. children from Karolinska Institutet.

Researchers at the beginning of the study also found that women over the age of 30 with high risk of HPV of any type were eight times more likely to suffer than women whose test for HPV was negative.

Read more: Cancer vaccine starts to work

Smaller cell samples

The study included more than 9,000 normal cell samples of women aged 20 to 60 who tested in the Swedish screening program in 2005-2007. Normal cell samples are therefore not a guarantee of not developing high cell changes, according to the researchers.

Today, Swedish women are examined with samples of uterine cells aged 23 to 64 years old. According to the new guidelines, screening from age 32 should rather be done with an HPV test in the first place. A change, says Sonia Andersson, which should apply even to younger women.

– The cell sample is not so important. It is time for Sweden to move to primary HPV screening for HPV instead of cell samples.

Read more: "No association between HPV vaccine and suspected adverse reactions"

More accurate test

According to Sonia Andersson, health care should also better specify the type of HPV virus in younger patients. And if it's HPV 16 or 18, patients should be called more often. Today, new samples are requested after three years if the cell samples are normal, even if the patient is wearing HPV.

"Whoever is 16 or 18 should be the subject of a new test within a year," says Sonia Andersson.

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