Risk Factors for Cervical Cancer

A risk factor is anything that increases your chance of getting a disease such as cancer. Different cancers have different risk factors. Search Verenespañol | Downloadthistopic[PDF] Causes,RiskFactors,andPrevention RiskFactorsforCervicalCancer WhatCausesCervicalCancer? CanCervicalCancerBePrevented? Home CancerA-Z CervicalCancer Causes,RiskFactors,andPrevention RiskFactorsforCervicalCancer Ariskfactorisanythingthatincreasesyourchanceofgettingadiseasesuchascancer.Differentcancershavedifferentriskfactors.Forexample,exposingskintostrongsunlightisariskfactorforskincancer.Smokingisariskfactorformanycancers.Buthavingariskfactor,orevenseveral,doesnotmeanthatyouwillgetthedisease. Severalriskfactorscanincreaseyourchanceofdevelopingcervicalcancer.Peoplewithoutanyoftheseriskfactorsrarelydevelopcervicalcancer.Althoughtheseriskfactorscanincreasetheoddsofdevelopingcervicalcancer,manywiththeserisksdonotdevelopthisdisease. Whenyouthinkaboutriskfactors,ithelpstofocusonthoseyoucanchangeoravoid(likesmokingorhumanpapillomavirusinfection),ratherthanthoseyoucannot(suchasyourageandfamilyhistory).However,itisstillimportanttoknowaboutriskfactorsthatcannotbechanged,becauseit'sevenmoreimportantforthosewhohavethesefactorstogetregularscreeningteststofindcervicalcancerearly. Riskfactorsyoucanpossiblychange Humanpapillomavirus(HPV)infection Infectionbythehumanpapillomavirus(HPV) isthemostimportantriskfactorforcervicalcancer.HPVisagroupofmorethan150relatedviruses.Someofthemcauseatypeofgrowthcalledpapillomas,whicharemorecommonlyknownaswarts. HPVcaninfectcellsonthesurfaceoftheskin,andthoseliningthegenitals,anus,mouthandthroat,butnotthebloodorinternalorganssuchastheheartorlungs. HPVcanspreadfromonepersontoanotherduringskin-to-skincontact.OnewayHPVspreadsisthroughsexualactivity,includingvaginal,anal,andevenoralsex. DifferenttypesofHPVcausewartsondifferentpartsofthebody.Somecausecommonwartsonthehandsandfeet;otherstendtocausewartsonthelipsortongue. CertaintypesofHPVmaycausewartsonoraroundthefemaleandmalegenitalorgansandintheanalarea.Thesearecalledlow-risktypesofHPVbecausetheyareseldomlinkedtocancer. OthertypesofHPVarecalledhigh-risktypesbecausetheyarestronglylinkedtocancers,includingcancerofthecervix,vulva,andvaginainwomen,penilecancerinmen,andcancersoftheanus,mouth,andthroatinbothmenandwomen.  InfectionwithHPViscommon,andinmostpeoplethebodycancleartheinfectionbyitself.Sometimes,however,theinfectiondoesnotgoawayandbecomeschronic.Chronicinfection,especiallywhenitiscausedbycertainhigh-riskHPVtypes,caneventuallycausecertaincancers,suchascervicalcancer. AlthoughthereiscurrentlynocureforHPVinfection,therearewaystotreatthewartsandabnormalcellgrowththatHPVcauses. Also,HPVvaccines areavailabletohelppreventinfectionbycertaintypesofHPVandsomeofthecancerslinkedtothosetypes. Formoreinformationonthistopic,seeHPV. Sexualhistory Severalfactorsrelatedtoyoursexualhistorycanincreasetheriskofcervicalcancer.TheriskismostlikelyaffectedbyincreasingthechancesofexposuretoHPV. Becomingsexuallyactiveatayoungage(especiallyyoungerthan18yearsold) Havingmanysexualpartners Havingonepartnerwhoisconsideredhighrisk(someonewithHPVinfectionorwhohasmanysexualpartners) Smoking Whensomeonesmokes,theyandthosearoundthemareexposedtomanycancer-causingchemicalsthataffectorgansotherthanthelungs.Theseharmfulsubstancesareabsorbedthroughthelungsandcarriedinthebloodstreamthroughoutthebody. Womenwhosmokeareabouttwiceaslikelyasthosewhodon'tsmoketogetcervicalcancer. Tobaccoby-productshavebeenfoundinthecervicalmucusofwomenwhosmoke.ResearchersbelievethatthesesubstancesdamagetheDNAofcervixcellsandmaycontributetothedevelopmentofcervicalcancer. SmokingalsomakestheimmunesystemlesseffectiveinfightingHPVinfections. Havingaweakenedimmunesystem Humanimmunodeficiencyvirus(HIV), thevirusthatcausesAIDS,weakenstheimmunesystemandputspeopleathigherriskforHPVinfections. Theimmunesystemisimportantindestroyingcancercellsandslowingtheirgrowthandspread.InwomenwithHIV,acervicalpre-cancermightdevelopintoaninvasivecancerfasterthanitnormallywould. Anothergroupofwomenatriskforcervicalcancerarethosetakingdrugstosuppresstheirimmuneresponse,suchasthosebeingtreatedforanautoimmunedisease(inwhichtheimmunesystemseesthebody'sowntissuesasforeignandattacksthem,asitwouldagerm)orthosewhohavehadanorgantransplant. Chlamydiainfection Chlamydiaisarelativelycommonkindofbacteriathatcaninfectthereproductivesystem.Itisspreadbysexualcontact.Womenwhoareinfectedwithchlamydiaoftenhavenosymptomsandtheymaynotknowthattheyareinfectedatallunlesstheyaretestedduringapelvicexam.Chlamydiainfectioncancausepelvicinflammation,leadingtoinfertility. Somestudieshaveseenahigherriskofcervicalcancerinwomenwhosebloodtestsandcervicalmucusshowedevidenceofpastorcurrentchlamydiainfection.CertainstudiesshowthattheChlamydiabacteriamayhelpHPVgrowandliveoninthecervixwhichmayincreasetheriskofcervicalcancer.   Long-termuseoforalcontraceptives(birthcontrolpills) Thereisevidencethattakingoralcontraceptives(OCs)foralongtimeincreasestheriskofcancerofthecervix.ResearchsuggeststhattheriskofcervicalcancergoesupthelongerawomantakesOCs,buttheriskgoesbackdownagainaftertheOCsarestopped,andreturnstonormalmanyyearsafterstopping. AwomanandherdoctorshoulddiscusswhetherthebenefitsofusingOCsoutweighthepotentialrisks.  Havingmultiplefull-termpregnancies Womenwhohavehad3ormorefull-termpregnancieshaveanincreasedriskofdevelopingcervicalcancer.ItisthoughtthisisprobablyduetotheincreasedexposuretoHPVinfectionwithsexualactivity. Also,studieshavepointedtohormonalchangesduringpregnancyaspossiblymakingwomenmoresusceptibletoHPVinfectionorcancergrowth.Anotherthoughtisthatpregnantwomenmighthaveweakerimmunesystems,allowingforHPVinfectionandcancergrowth.  Youngageatfirstfull-termpregnancy Womenwhowereyoungerthan20yearswhentheyhadtheirfirstfull-termpregnancyaremorelikelytogetcervicalcancerlaterinlifethanwomenwhowaitedtogetpregnantuntiltheywere25yearsorolder.  Economicstatus Manylow-incomewomendonothaveeasyaccesstoadequatehealthcareservices,includingcervicalcancerscreeningwithPaptestsandHPVtests.Thismeanstheymaynotgetscreenedortreatedforcervicalpre-cancers.  Adietlowinfruitsandvegetables Womenwhosedietsdon’tincludeenoughfruitsandvegetablesmaybeatincreasedriskforcervicalcancer. Riskfactorsthatcannotbechanged Diethylstilbestrol(DES) DESisahormonaldrugthatwasgiventosomewomenbetween1938and1971topreventmiscarriage.WomenwhosemotherstookDES(whenpregnantwiththem)developclear-celladenocarcinomaofthevaginaorcervixmoreoftenthanwouldnormallybeexpected.Thesetypesofcancerareextremelyrareinwomenwhohaven’tbeenexposedtoDES.Thereisabout1caseofvaginalorcervicalclear-celladenocarcinomainevery1,000womenwhosemotherstookDESduringpregnancy.Thismeansthatabout99.9%of"DESdaughters"donotdevelopthesecancers. DES-relatedclearcelladenocarcinomaismorecommoninthevaginathanthecervix.Theriskappearstobegreatestinwomenwhosemotherstookthedrugduringtheirfirst16weeksofpregnancy.TheaverageageofwomendiagnosedwithDES-relatedclear-celladenocarcinomais19years.SincetheuseofDESduringpregnancywasstoppedbytheFDAin1971,eventheyoungestDESdaughtersareolderthan40−pasttheageofhighestrisk.Still,thereisnoagecut-offwhenthesewomenarefelttobesafefromDES-relatedcancer.Doctorsdonotknowexactlyhowlongthesewomenwillremainatrisk. DESdaughtersmayalsobeatincreasedriskofdevelopingsquamouscellcancersandpre-cancersofthecervixlinkedtoHPV.  YoucanlearnmoreinDESExposure:QuestionsandAnswers.Readitonourwebsite,orcall(1-800-227-2345) tohaveafreecopysenttoyou. Havingafamilyhistoryofcervicalcancer Cervicalcancermayruninsomefamilies.Ifyourmotherorsisterhadcervicalcancer,yourchancesofdevelopingthediseasearehigherthanifnooneinthefamilyhadit.SomeresearcherssuspectthatsomerareinstancesofthisfamilialtendencyarecausedbyaninheritedconditionthatmakessomewomenlessabletofightoffHPVinfectionthanothers.Inotherinstances,womeninthesamefamilyasapatientalreadydiagnosedcouldbemorelikelytohaveoneormoreoftheothernon-geneticriskfactorspreviouslydescribedinthissection.  Factorsthatmayloweryourrisk Intrauterinedevice(IUD)use Someresearchsuggeststhatwomenwhohadeverusedanintrauterinedevice(IUD)hadalowerriskofcervicalcancer. TheeffectonriskwasseeneveninwomenwhohadanIUDforlessthanayear,andtheprotectiveeffectremainedaftertheIUDswereremoved. IUDsdohavesomerisks.AwomaninterestedinusinganIUDshouldfirstdiscussthepossiblerisksandbenefitswithherdoctor.Also,awomanwithmultiplesexualpartnersshouldusecondomstolowerherriskofsexuallytransmittedillnessesnomatterwhatotherformofcontraceptionsheuses. Writtenby References TheAmericanCancerSocietymedicalandeditorialcontentteam Ourteamismadeupofdoctorsand oncologycertifiednurseswithdeepknowledgeofcancercareaswellasjournalists,editors,andtranslatorswithextensiveexperienceinmedicalwriting. AdamE,KaufmanRH,Adler-StorthzK,etal. Aprospectivestudyofassociationofherpessimplexvirusandhuman papillomavirusinfectionwithcervicalneoplasiainwomenexposedto diethylstilbestrolinutero.IntJCancer.1985;35:19-26. 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WinerRL,LeeSK, HughesJP,etal.Genitalhumanpapillomavirusinfection:incidenceandrisk factorsinacohortoffemaleuniversitystudents.AmJEpidemiol. 2003;157(3):218-226.Erratumin:AmJEpidemiol.2003;157(9):858. ZhuH,ShenZ,LuoH,ZhangW,ZhuX.ChlamydiaTrachomatis Infection-AssociatedRiskofCervicalCancer:AMeta-Analysis.Medicine (Baltimore).2016;95(13):e3077. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000003077 LastRevised:January3,2020 Causes,RiskFactors,andPrevention RiskFactorsforCervicalCancer WhatCausesCervicalCancer? CanCervicalCancerBePrevented? MoreInCervicalCancer AboutCervicalCancer Causes,RiskFactors,andPrevention EarlyDetection,Diagnosis,andStaging Treatment AfterTreatment BackToTop Close * Close Imageof Previous Next Close Close SelectAHopeLodge