1. Have you heard of the HPV virus? ? Thanks to cervical cancer screening, the incidence of cervical cancer has dropped significantly. ? The most important high-risk factor for the occurrence of cervical cancer is high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. ? The virus particles are small and can infect the skin and mucous membranes. ? More than 100 HPV viruses have been identified and they infect only humans, most commonly in the skin and genital tract. 2. Characteristics of HPV infection: ? HPV is a common sexually transmitted disease and is usually a transient, short-lived infection. Many women will have HPV infection at different times, usually the infection occurs in young women in their 20s, however most women will clear the virus spontaneously in a short period of time. 3. Why is it called high-risk HPV? Many HPV types are called: “low-risk HPV” and these HPV do not cause cancer to develop. ? HPVs that are associated with the development of precancerous lesions of the cervix (called CIN) are called high-risk types. High-risk HPV (hrHPV) can be detected in more than 90% of cervical cancer tissues. Persistent high-risk HPV infection (1 year) is an independent high-risk factor for cervical precancer and cervical cancer. ? HPV 16 is the most common high-risk HPV type, accounting for approximately 70% of cervical cancers, followed by HPV 18. HPV 52 infection accounts for the highest number of Chinese women and can often lead to cervical precancerous lesions. 4.Which women need to be tested for HPV? HPV testing was introduced as a screening method for cervical cancer in the UK and US in 2012, and women over the age of 25 who are sexually active should be tested for HPV. ? Because testing for HPV, screening for cervical cancer is highly sensitive and less likely to be missed. Like cytology, it only requires brushing of shed cells at the cervical os and is painless. ? Colposcopy is performed after screening out high-risk women, and biopsies are taken under colposcopic guidance for pathological examination to confirm the presence of precancerous cervical lesions. This article is published with permission from Dr. Fang Li.