• Insight to human papilloma virus and cervical cancer diagnosis and treatment
  • Mohadeseh Amini Musa Abadi,1 Yalda Boozarjomehri,2 Seyedeh Aida Hosseini,3 Saman Hakimian,4,*
    1. Undergraduate student of Microbiology Naghsh-e Jahan Non-Profit Institute
    2. Undergraduate student of Microbiology Naghsh-e Jahan Non-Profit Institute
    3. Undergraduate student of Microbiology Naghsh-e Jahan Non-Profit Institute
    4. M.sc student of Pathogenic Microbes Islamic Azad University Central Tehran Branch Master


  • Introduction: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is caused by a DNA virus of the Papillomaviridae family.  Most HPV infections cause no symptoms, and 90 percent of them go away on their own within two years.  Some types of HPV can cause warts on the skin or mucous membranes, and some can lead to 5% of cancers, including cervical, penile, vulva, vagina, anus, and oropharyngeal cancers.  Developed countries have reduced this challenge by introducing structured screening programs and recently the HPV vaccine.
  • Methods: HPVs are one of the most common pathogens that affect humans, and there are more than 100 subtypes of HPV, which are classified into two high-risk and low-risk types depending on their oncogenic potential.  Low-risk HPV subtypes include HPV-42, HPV-11, HPV-6, HPV-43, and HPV-44. They are the most common non-carcinogenic subtypes and are responsible for more than 90% of genital warts. HPV-6 and HPV-11 subtypes Oncogenes include HPV-16, HPV-18, HPV-33, HPV-35, HPV-45, and HPV-58, and these have the potential to cause cancer of the cervix, oropharynx, vagina, vulva, penis, and anus.  Cervical cancer is the most common HPV-related cancer, and HPV-16 is the most common causative subtype, followed by HPV-18.  Together, HPV-16 and HPV-18 account for approximately 70% of all cervical cancer cases.
  • Results: HPV has a great tendency to infect epithelial cells of the skin and mucous membranes, and HPV infection is associated with a wide range of pathologies.  HPV is the etiological factor in benign skin warts and respiratory papillomatosis in adolescents, as well as low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (SLE) and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (SLE) are precursors of cancer and invasive carcinoma.
  • Conclusion: Treatment of precancerous lesions, cancers and persistent/recurrent benign lesions caused by HPV is still an incompletely resolved problem.   The effectiveness of the treatment may be increased by including methods that are based on stimulation of the immune system in the fight against infection.
  • Keywords: Human papillomavirus (HPV), HPV vaccine, uterine cancer, genital warts and sexual contact