What is HPV?
HPV (Human Papillomavirus) is an extremely common virus, with over 200 strains identified (each numbered chronologically based on their discovery).
Between 80-90% of people will get HPV at some point in their life, but most won’t even know about it. Most experience no symptoms as it lays dormant and undetectable, and luckily our immune system does a really good job of clearing up HPV within 1-2 years.
HPV is primarily passed on through skin-skin contact, such as during sex. This can include close contact of the genital area; vaginal, anal or oral sex; or sharing sex toys. It does not have to be penetrative sex.
Most HPV strains are Low-Risk. Low-risk HPV can cause warts on the hands, feet and face. Other common low risk strains (HPV- 6 and -11) can cause genital warts. These physical changes caused by HPV are often short-lived and clear up without requiring treatment.
There are however 14 High-Risk HPV strains which are all linked with an increased risk of certain cancers – anal, penile, vulval, vaginal, oropharyngeal, and most commonly, cervical. HPV-16 and -18 are responsible for approximately 70% of cervical cancers.
HPV has a dormancy period, which means it may sit in your body for a number of years, or in rare cases, even decades, before becoming “active” and detectable on a test. There is no cure for HPV, which is why early testing and detection is necessary to detect it and monitor for any harm it may cause.
How HPV causes cancer and how we detect it
Once an HPV strain becomes active, it is possible to detect this on a test. Not everyone who has a high-risk strain of HPV will get cancer. The immune system can still effectively clear high-risk strains.
A persistent and active strain of high-risk HPV can change the DNA of cells causing them to become abnormal. Some of these abnormal cells will recover and go back to normal, but some will continue to grow and develop into cancer.
Cervical Screening is the best method for detecting active HPV and preventing cancer. Cervical screening tests for high-risk strains of HPV – if a high-risk strain is found, then they will then test for abnormal cells.
HPV test at home
Recently, the NHS began rolling out HPV self-testing which will invite those eligible and who have not attended a cervical screening, for whatever reason, to test at home. Only 70% of women are up to date with their cervical screening despite this being the best way to save lives and prevent cervical cancer, so offering self-testing kits is a great way to reduce barriers and enable more people to access healthcare.
Self-testing kits work by taking a swab from the vagina, which will then be tested for high-risk HPV. If HPV is detected, patients would then need to come in for another screening as, unlike cervical screening, this at-home test cannot be used to check for abnormal cells on the cervix.
HPV Vaccine
The HPV vaccine is an extremely effective way of protecting you from high-risk strains of HPV. Since its roll out in 2008 and delivery to children aged 12-13, for the first time in history no women in their early 20s died from cervical cancer within a 5 year period (2020-2024) (The Lancet). Australia is on track to be the first country to in fact eliminate cervical cancer by 2035 thanks to the introduction of the HPV vaccines, with no cervical cancer diagnoses in under 25s in 2021 (Gov.au).