HPV
HPV (Human PappillomaVirus) is sexually transmitted between people during sexual contact. Around 80% of people in the UK will have the HPV virus at some time during their lifetime so it is a very common infection.
There are over 170 types of HPV and some are more likely to lead to vulval cancer than others.
HPV types 6 and 11 can infect the female and male genital organs and the anal area, causing genital warts. These types of the virus are called low risk types, and are rarely linked to cancer.
HPV type 16 is the most common type found in vulval cancer, followed by HPV types 33 and 18. If you have these types it doesn't mean you will definitely get Cancer, it's just that your at a higher risk and would need regular monitoring for pre cancer changes via visual examinations of the Vulva and smear tests for the cervix.
There is now a vaccine that can protect against HPV infection. In the future, there should be a fall in vulval cancer/cervical cancer rates so long as people are tested to see if they have the HPV virus and what type they have. This will take some years to show up because vulval/Cervical cancer can take such a long time to develop.
There are over 170 types of HPV and some are more likely to lead to vulval cancer than others.
HPV types 6 and 11 can infect the female and male genital organs and the anal area, causing genital warts. These types of the virus are called low risk types, and are rarely linked to cancer.
HPV type 16 is the most common type found in vulval cancer, followed by HPV types 33 and 18. If you have these types it doesn't mean you will definitely get Cancer, it's just that your at a higher risk and would need regular monitoring for pre cancer changes via visual examinations of the Vulva and smear tests for the cervix.
There is now a vaccine that can protect against HPV infection. In the future, there should be a fall in vulval cancer/cervical cancer rates so long as people are tested to see if they have the HPV virus and what type they have. This will take some years to show up because vulval/Cervical cancer can take such a long time to develop.
