Our Ask the Specialist service at CancerAware enables you to put your questions on any aspect of Breast and Gynaecological cancers to our panel of medical experts.
Below is one of the questions we received and the feedback from our medical expert.
Q: "A few months ago I noticed some warts around my genital area. They disappeared after a few months. Will a woman have cervical cancer if she has HPV? Should I take the vaccine?"⠀
A: "There are several types of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). Most are harmless and can cause warts on fingers and other parts of the body including the genitals. It is possible, if you have had warts on your fingers, to infect your genitals. Genital warts do not lead to cervical cancer.
The types of HPV that causes genital and other warts is different from the HPV that causes cervical cancer. That particular type infects the cervix and causes no symptoms. It is important therefore for all sexually active women to have cervical screening to protect them from cervical cancer.
If cost is not a factor, I would encourage you to have the HPV vaccination to protect you against cervical cancer."
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