Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a group of more than 200 viruses that cause warts. Roughly 40 of these variants are transmitted sexually and cause warts on or around your genitals, anus, mouth, or throat. Some can cause different types of cancer.
Most HPV infections don't lead to cancer. But some types of genital HPV can cause cancer of the lower part of the uterus that connects to the vagina (cervix). Other types of cancers, including cancers of the anus, penis, vagina, vulva and back of the throat (oropharyngeal), have been linked to HPV infection.
In most cases, your body's immune system defeats an HPV infection before it creates warts. When warts do appear, they vary in appearance depending on which kind of HPV is involved. There are four kinds of warts: genital, common, plantar, and flat.
The most frequent symptom of HPV infection is actually no symptoms at all. A lack of symptoms is especially true for the high-risk strains of HPV. That is why it is so important to see your gynecologist regularly for exams and appropriate screening tests.
If you do develop symptoms of HPV infection it is likely because you have developed genital warts from the virus.
Nearly all cervical cancers are caused by HPV infections, but cervical cancer may take 20 years or longer to develop after an HPV infection. Because early cervical cancer doesn't cause symptoms, it's vital that women have regular screening tests to detect any precancerous changes in the cervix that might lead to cancer.
At the current time, we only have approved and reliable screening testing for the detection of genital tract HPV in women.
HPV is so common that almost every sexually active person will eventually get it if not vaccinated. According to the CDC, there were 43 million HPV infections in 2018.
The HPV vaccine was first developed by the University of Queensland (Australia) by Professors Ian Frazer and Jian Zhou. In 1990, Frazer and Zhou began to synthesize particles that mimicked HPV, from which the vaccine would later be made. These particles are called “virus-like particles” (VLPs), and are small particles that contain proteins from the outer layer of the HPV virus. VLPs do not contain any of the DNA, dead or live, from the virus, and therefore cannot cause an HPV infection or related cancer. Introducing these VLPs into the body via injection stimulates the body to create the antibodies needed to fight it and clear it from the body. As the VLP closely resembles the actual virus, these antibodies will attack and remove HPV if it enters the body. This method of vaccination is highly effective, as the VLPs cause high levels of antibody production.
In 1991, Frazer and Zhou’s findings were first presented to the scientific community. After seven years of design and testing, the first human trials for the vaccine, named Gardasil, were completed. This vaccine prevented four high-risk HPV types (HPV 6, 11, 16, and 18), which would target over 70% of cervical cancer cases. In 2006, following extensive clinical trials which found the vaccine to provide almost 100% protection against HPV 16 and 18, the vaccine was approved for use by Australia and the USA, and by 2007 the vaccine was approved in 80 countries. Since then, two further vaccines have been approved and are used worldwide.
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