by Ann Marie Dwyer

Created on: February 28, 2009   Last Updated: March 01, 2009

While medicine cannot point a single finger at the cause of cervical cancer, it does point at the link between cervical cancer and the human papilloma virus (HPV) and risk factors which increase chances of developing cervical cancer. HPV is responsible for over 90 per cent of all cervical cancer.

HPV in combination with nine other identified risk factors substantially increases the risk for cervical cancer. The remaining nine risk factors are normally found in combination in the ten per cent of cases where HPV is not a factor.

Women with none of the risk factors rarely contract cervical cancer. Women who have had HPV have an increased risk of developing cervical cancer.

What is cervical cancer?

Two types of cervical cancer are squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma. When both types of cancer are present in the cervix, it is called mixed carcinoma. 80 per cent of all cervical cancer is squamous cell cancer.

Cervical cancer is a slow-growing cancer which begins with changes in the cervical cells. While some pre-cancer cells (changed cervical cells) will disappear without treatment, more will continue to change and invade deeper into the cervix, developing into invasive cervical cancer.

Yearly, 11,000 American women are diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer. Of those, nearly 4,000 will die.

What are the risk factors?

1. Human papilloma virus (HPV)

Over 100 variants of HPV exists. Infections of two specific types of HPV (16 and 18) cause 70 per cent of cases of cervical cancer.

The majority of HPV infections go away on their own and do not cause cervical cancer. Frequent or persistent (lasting years) HPV infections increase the risk of developing cervical cancer.

HPV is transmitted through sex. Condom use lowers the risk of infection, but cannot guarantee protection.

Vaccinations against HPV 16 and 18 and the genital wart-causing HPV 6 and 11 are available and recommended for girls 12-18. These vaccines do not protect against all forms of HPV.

If a woman is sexually active, the only proven form of HPV infection prevention is a mutually monogamous sexual relationship with a non-infected partner.

2. Sexually transmitted diseases (STD)

STD increase the risk of cervical cancer, especially when in concert with HPV. Women with both genital herpes and HPV had double the risk for developing cervical cancer.

Chlamydia and HPV infections increase the risk for cervical cancer by 80 per cent.

3. Oral contraceptives (OC)

Since cancer depends on naturally occurring hormones, the use of oral

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