At the recent annual meeting of the Asia-Oceania Genital Infections and Tumors Research Organization, Professor Lang Jinghe, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and director of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Peking Union Medical College, pointed out that 99% of cervical cancers are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV for short). In fact, cervical cancer can be prevented through early HPV testing. Nearly 500,000 women worldwide are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, and more than 99% of cervical cancers are caused by HPV, a virus that specifically infects the human epidermis and mucosal squamous epithelium and is transmitted primarily through sexual intercourse. HPV infection is more common in women, with data showing that 4 out of 5 women will be infected at some point in their lives. In developing countries, cervical cancer has a high mortality rate. According to the latest data on the incidence of cervical cancer by age nationwide in 2009, there are 130,000 new cases of cervical cancer in China each year, with 1/3 of cervical cancer patients under the age of 35, and the age of onset is earlier in urban women than in rural areas. HPV testing can improve early detection rates “HPV is transmitted through sexual contact, and women can be infected even if they have only one sexual partner, or even if they have not had sex for many years.” Lang Jinghe explained that most HPV infections are asymptomatic and can be cleared by the body’s natural immune system. However, when symptoms appear, the cancer is usually at a more advanced stage and difficult to treat, so early detection is necessary. According to Lang Jinghe, the cervix is equivalent to the gate of the uterus, which is responsible for defense and guarding functions. The special status of the cervix makes it vulnerable to foreign bacteria and viruses, and the trauma caused by childbirth and abortion, as well as the special morphological changes of the cervical epithelial tissue, lead to the tendency of inflammation to malignant transformation of the cervical epithelium. Although the cause of cervical cancer is not yet fully understood, according to the data, sexual disorders (multiple sexual partners), premature sexual intercourse, close births, multiple births, people with other STD (sexually transmitted diseases), people receiving immunosuppressive therapy, smokers and drug users, and people with family history of cervical lesions, cervical cancer, endometrial cancer, vaginal cancer or vulvar cancer are the high-risk factors for cervical cancer. Lang Jinghe said that the development from cervical precancer to cervical cancer is a long process, and HPV can be latent in the body for 10 years or more without any symptoms. Therefore, it is important to include HPV testing as part of routine screening to improve the early detection rate through early detection, and the cure rate of cervical precancerous lesions can be as high as 98 percent, which can eventually prevent cervical cancer from occurring. ”Women who are sexually active can start HPV testing after the age of 30.” Lang Jinghe reminded that if the test result is negative, it means that they are not infected by HPV and will not be at risk of cervical cancer for a long time; if the test result is positive, that does not necessarily indicate cervical cancer and can be combined with further colposcopy, as only persistent infection may eventually develop into cervical cancer. Men have a 50% chance of HPV infection. Surveys show that HPV infection is mostly seen in young people aged 15-24, especially in teenage groups. The likelihood of HPV infection is increasing along with earlier and increased sexual activity. However, does the absence of sexual activity mean that you can’t get HPV infection? Experts point out that there are many public misconceptions about cervical cancer and HPV. In fact, HPV infection can be contracted through direct contact in addition to sexual intercourse: for example, after hands touching objects with HPV, it is possible to bring the virus into the genital organs when using the toilet or bathing; or the genital organs touching objects such as bath towels with HPV can be infected. The incubation period of cervical cancer is generally more than 10 years. If you are infected with HPV virus at the age of 40 and have never had cervical screening, the virus may continue to exist in the cervix even if you do not have sexual intercourse at the age of 50. It’s also a misconception that men can’t get HPV. Studies have shown that men also have a chance of contracting HPV, and the chance of infection is 50%, which is very close to the rate of infection in women. According to research, the physiological mechanism of HPV infection in men is similar to that of women, and men are less able to clear the virus through their own immune system than women. HPV testing should be done regularly: even if you have received the cervical cancer vaccine, you should be screened regularly. There are more than 100 subtypes of HPV virus and more than 10 high-risk subtypes associated with cervical cancer, and the vaccine targets only a few of them. There are more than 100 different types of HPV known, most of which are considered “low risk” and are not associated with cervical cancer. However, 14 HPV types are classified as “high-risk” because they have been shown to cause almost all cervical cancers. Of these, the two highest risk strains, HPV16 and HPV18, cause about 70 percent of cervical cancer cases. Women carrying these two strains are 35 times more likely to develop precancerous cervical lesions compared to women who are not infected with HPV, even if they have normal cytology results. The higher-risk types are 16 and 18, so many vaccines are now available for these two. If the body is infected with other types of HPV, it may also cause cervical cancer. Therefore, experts suggest that even if you have the cervical cancer vaccine, you still need to have regular cervical cancer screenings. ”We recommend that anyone who has had sex for more than three years should be screened.” Lang Jinghe said that if both HPV and TCT cervical cancer screening tests are negative, you can check again at intervals of several years; if one is positive, it depends on the specific situation to determine how to handle it. Increasing the use of HPV screening tests and encouraging women to get tested regularly for high-risk HPV types, especially HPV 16 and 18, can help detect risk early and is an effective way to reduce cervical cancer incidence and mortality in Asian women.