Cutaneous HPVs

Infection with cutaneous HPVs is ubiquitous. Some HPV types, such as HPV-5, may establish infections that persist for the lifetime of the individual without ever manifesting any clinical symptoms. Like remora suckerfish that hitchhike harmlessly on sharks, these HPV types can be thought of as human commensals. Other cutaneous HPVs, such as HPV types 1 or 2, may cause common warts in some infected individuals. Skin warts are most common in childhood and typically appear and regress spontaneously over the course of weeks to months. About 10% of adults also suffer from recurring skin warts. All HPVs are believed to be capable of establishing long-term "latent" infections in small numbers of stem cells present in the skin. Although these latent infections may never be fully eradicated, immunological control is thought to block the appearance of symptoms such as warts. Immunological control is HPV type-specific, meaning that an individual may become resistant to one HPV type while remaining susceptible to other types.

Lung Cancer

There has been evidence linking HPV to benign and malignant tumors of the upper respiratory tract. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) have found that people with lung cancer were significantly more likely to have several high-risk forms of HPV antibodies compared to those who did not have lung cancer. Researchers looking for HPV among 1,633 lung cancer patients and 2,729 people without the lung disease found that people with lung cancer had more types of HPV than non-cancer patients did, and among lung cancer patients, the chances of having eight types of serious HPV were significantly increased. In addition, there has been expression of HPV structural proteins by immunohistochemistry and in vitro studies that suggests HPV presence in bronchial cancer and its precursor lesions. Another study detected HPV in the EBC, bronchial brushing and neoplastic lung tissue of cases, and found a presence of an HPV infection in 16.4% of the subjects affected by non-small cell lung cancer, but in none of the controls. The reported average frequencies of HPV in lung cancers were 17% and 15% in Europe and the America, respectively, and the mean number of HPV in Asian lung cancer samples was 35.7%, with a considerable heterogeneity between certain countries and regions.

Throat Cancer

In recent years, the United States has experienced an increase in the number of cases of throat cancer caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) Type 16. Throat cancers associated with HPV have been estimated to have increased from 0.8 cases per 100,000 people in 1988 to 2.6 per 100,000 in 2004. Researchers explain this recent data by an increase in oral sex. Moreover, findings indicate this type of cancer is much more prevalent in men than in women, something that needs to be further explored. Currently, two immunizations, Gardasil and Cervarix, are recommended to girls to prevent HPV related cervical cancer but not as a precaution against HPV related throat cancer.

Genital HPVs

A large increase in the incidence of genital HPV infection occurs at the age when individuals begin to engage in sexual activity. The great majority of genital HPV infections never cause any overt symptoms and are cleared by the immune system in a matter of months. As with cutaneous HPVs, immunity is believed to be HPV type-specific. Some infected individuals may fail to bring genital HPV infection under immunological control. Lingering infection with high-risk HPV types, such as HPVs 16, 18, 31, and 45, can lead to the development of cervical cancer or other types of cancer. In addition to persistent infection with high-risk HPV types, epidemiological and molecular data suggest that co-factors such as the cigarette smoke carcinogen benzoapyrene (BaP) enhance development of certain HPV-induced cancers.

High-risk HPV types 16 and 18 are together responsible for over 65% of cervical cancer cases. Type 16 causes 41 to 54% of cervical cancers, and accounts for an even greater majority of HPV-induced vaginal/vulvar cancers, penile cancers, anal cancers and head and neck cancers.

United States of America

HPV is estimated to be the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Most sexually active men and women will probably acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives. The American Social Health Association reported estimates that about 75-80% of sexually active Americans will be infected with HPV at some point in their lifetime. By the age of 50 more than 80% of American women will have contracted at least one strain of genital HPV.

It was estimated that, in the year 2000, there were approximately 6.2 million new HPV infections among Americans aged 15–44; of these, an estimated 74% occurred to people between ages of 15 and 24. Of the STDs studied, genital HPV was the most commonly acquired.

Estimates of HPV prevalence vary from 14% to more than 90%. One reason for the difference is that some studies report women who currently have a detectable infection, while other studies report women who have ever had a detectable infection. Another cause of discrepancy is the difference in strains that were tested for.

One study found that, during 2003–2004, at any given time, 26.8% of women aged 14 to 59 were infected with at least one type of HPV. This was higher than previous estimates; 15.2% were infected with one or more of the high-risk types that can cause cancer. However, only 3.4% were infected with one or more of the four types prevented by the Gardasil vaccine, which was lower than previous estimates.

The prevalence for high-risk and low-risk types is roughly similar over time. The overall prevalence of high- and low-risk HPV types was 15.2% and 17.8%, respectively.

Note that prevalence decreases with age. This may be due to the HPV infection's being cleared by the immune system, or sinking to undetectable levels while still present in the body. Recent studies from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and from the University of Washington suggest that HPV may eventually be cleared in most people with well-functioning immune systems.