What causes cervical cancer

More than 95% of cervical cancers are caused by HPV virus infection. This is a major discovery in world medical science in the past three or four decades. There is now a very certain conclusion that cervical cancer is caused by high-risk HPV.

Thirty years ago, through epidemiological surveys, we found that people who married early, had early children, had multiple births, and had multiple sexual partners had a higher risk of cervical cancer, but at the time we didn't know why these people were prone to cervical cancer. Later, scientists discovered that cervical cancer is mainly transmitted through sexual intercourse.

Not all people infected with HPV will develop cervical cancer. Generally, HPV infection is very common. 20% of the population can be tested positive for HPV infection. After one year, 80% of these infected people will disappear naturally, and only 20% will not disappear. We call this persistent infection, and persistent infection is a necessary condition for cervical cancer.

The groups of people who are prone to persistent infection mainly include: people with multiple sexual partners, people with poor immunity, people using immunosuppressants, and HIV patients. After these people are infected with HPV, they are particularly prone to developing cervical cancer.

Studies have found that it takes seven to ten years from HPV infection to the development of cervical cancer. This is a relatively long process. We can detect precancerous lesions at any time and block them in time to prevent the occurrence of cervical cancer.