http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/cervical/statistics/
Cervical Cancer Statistics
Cervical cancer used to be the leading cause of cancer death for women in the United States. However, in the past 40 years, the number of cases of cervical cancer and the number of deaths from cervical cancer have decreased significantly. This decline largely is the result of many women getting regular Pap tests, which can find cervical precancer before it turns into cancer.1 For more information, visit HPV-Associated Cervical Cancer Rates by Race and Ethnicity.
In 2008 (the most recent year numbers are available)—
12,410 women in the United States were diagnosed with cervical cancer.*2
4,008 women in the United States died from cervical cancer.*2
*Incidence and death counts cover approximately 100% of the U.S. population.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/medical/health/medical/cancer/story/2012-04-01/Black-women-have-trouble-clearing-cervical-cancer-virus/53931172/1
Black women have trouble clearing cervical cancer virus
CHICAGO – Provocative new research might help explain why black women are so much more likely than whites to develop and die from cervical cancer: They seem to have more trouble clearing HPV, the virus that causes the disease.
Doctors have long thought that less access to screening and follow-up health care were the reasons black women in the U.S. are 40 percent more likely to develop cervical cancer and twice as likely to die from it. The new study involving young college women suggests there might be a biological explanation for the racial disparity, too.
If further study confirms this novel finding, it would make the HPV vaccine even more important for black women, said Worta McCaskill-Stevens, a prevention specialist at the National Cancer Institute. The vaccine is recommended for all girls starting at age 11.
http://cancerhelp.cancerresearchuk.org/type/cervical-cancer/about/cervical-cancer-risks-and-causes
HPV infection
Human papilloma virus (HPV) is the major cause of the main types of cervical cancer – squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma. There are over 100 different types of human papilloma virus (HPV). Up to 8 out of 10 people (80%) in the UK are infected with the HPV virus at some time during their lifetime. But for most people the virus causes no harm and goes away without treatment.
Some HPV types are called the wart virus or genital wart virus because they cause genital warts. The types of this virus that cause warts are not the same types that increase the risk of cervical cancer. But some types of HPV are considered high risk for cancer of the cervix – they include types 16 and 18. If you have persistent or frequent infections with these high risk types of HPV, you are more at risk of developing pre cancerous cervical cells or cervical cancer than people who have not had these infections.
Almost all women who get cervical cancer have had past infections with HPV. As some types of HPV are passed on from one person to another through sexual contact (including non penetrative sexual activity) this has led to women's sexual behaviour being seen as a risk factor for cervical cancer. But, on the other hand, most women infected with these viruses do NOT develop cervical cancer. So other factors must also be needed.
http://www.nccc-online.org/index.php/overview
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the name of a group of viruses that infect the skin. There are more than 100 different types of HPV. Some types of genital HPV may cause genital warts, while other types of genital HPV are linked to abnormal cell changes on the cervix (detected through Pap tests) that can lead to cervical cancer. However, this cancer can almost always be prevented through regular screening and, if needed, treatment of abnormal cell changes.
Approximately 6 million new cases of sexually transmitted HPV occur in the U.S. each year, with at least 20 million people estimated to be currently infected. Most people with HPV, though, do not know that they are infected.
It is estimated that 70% of women and men will come into contact with it during their life. Fortunately 80 to 90% of cases the human papillomavirus will be naturally eliminated.
Fast Facts
HPV can infect anyone who has ever had a sexual encounter, even without going “all the way.”
HPV is spread through skin-to-skin contact, not through an exchange of bodily fluid.
In most cases, the virus is harmless and most people have no symptoms. The body clears most HPV infections naturally.
HPV can be contracted from one partner, remain dormant, and then later be unknowingly transmitted to another sexual partner, including a spouse.
Though usually harmless, some high-risk types cause cervical cell changes that, if not detected in time, can turn into cancer. The majority of women with an HPV infection will not develop cervical cancer, but regular Pap tests are important.
Cervical cancer most commonly takes 10 years to 20 years or more to develop; women who are no longer sexually active should still have Pap tests.
Cervical cancer is the first cancer in women to be identified as being caused almost exclusively by a virus.
The best way to screen for cervical cancer is a Pap test, which may be done alone or, for women age 30 and older, in combination with an HPV DNA test.
HPV infections in women over 30 are less likely to be cleared naturally, so an HPV test can be helpful in letting health care providers know which women are at greatest risk of cervical cancer.
Regular Pap tests, supplemented by appropriate HPV testing, will detect virtually all pre-cancerous changes and cervical cancers.
Cervical cancer is completely preventable if precancerous cell changes are detected and treated early.
Genital warts usually appear as a small bump or group of bumps in the genital area. They can be small or large, raised or flat, or shaped like a cauliflower. Health care providers typically diagnose warts by looking at the genital area during an office visit. Warts can appear within weeks or months after sexual contact with an infected partner—even if the infected partner has no signs of genital warts. If left untreated, genital warts might go away, remain unchanged, or increase in size or number. They will not turn into cancer.
Latex condoms can reduce--but not totally eliminate--the risk of HPV transmission.
HPV type 16 is linked to some head and neck cancers.
Approximately thirty percent of oral carcinoma is related to HPV.
Oropharayngeal cancers (cancer of the tonsils, back of throat or base of the tongue) are rare, but the risk increases with the number of oral sex partners.
*** HPV also causes anal and throat cancers.
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