It seems that despite the number of times this question is answered in this post, there are those who continue to ask it. Not that it isn't a valid question, but there certainly have been enough answers provided here to eliminate the need to post the question yet again. Read the answers.
I would like to clarify something which I see a lot of women do and that is to refer to the various strains of HPV as strands like a strand of hair. The word is strain and yes there are over 100 different strains of HPV.
Unfortunately the wording still continues to confuse people especially the word "clear". As mentiond repeatedly above, the virus can go dormant and thus not be found on an HPV test however the virus is and always will remain in your body. It's that simple. If anyone tells you that it can be removed from your body they are incorrect.
I would also like to mention something which goes unmentioned far too often. Whenever any questions come up about HPV and pap and HPV tests inevitably the conversation turns to the cervix and cervical cancer. Rarely does anyone expand the comments to inform the posters that this isn't all about just cervical cancer.
Any time you have a colposcopy (not to be confused with colonoscopy which is a screening test for colon cancer) you should be asking your doctor to also look at the vagina, vulva and anus. Like cervical cancer, approximately 99% of anal cancers are also caused by HPV yet very few people are aware of this. If you have had CIN (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia) then you have a 37% increased risk of developing AIN (anal intraepithelial neoplaasia) and/or anal cancer. Also, a colonoscopy is NOT the test of choice for viewing anal HPV lesions, an anoscopy is. Many people also continue to confuse colon cancer and anal cancer. These cancers derive from totally different types of cells and are not connected at all.
The ACOG (American College of OB-GYN) have a complete list of recommendations regarding follow-up for HPV and/or positive pap tests. You can gain a signifiant amount of detailed information and references at thehpvsupportnetwork.org. The site is certified by HONCode which certifies sites as having medically accurate information so this should provide confidence with respect to what you are reading.
Lastly, I would like to comment on foamites. Up until recently it has been believed that HPV was transmitted via skin-to-skin contact and that intercourse was not a prerequesite to contracting the virus. There is recent research especially by Joel Palefky, MD probably the most influential individual on HPV, that transmission can also occur through foamites (inanimate objects). While we are not talking about a towel or toilet seat necessarily, Dr. Palefsky and others are firm believers that an object such as a finger can transport the virus from an infected area to a previous uninfected area. The virus has already been documented in urine, semen and breast milk and also saliva. This leads to the possibility of transmission through kissing. Since HPV has been shown to be present in 25% of head/neck/throat cancers (with HPV16 showing up in 90% of those cases) this concept is not so far fetched. After all, these are all bodily fluids and similar to AIDS which can also be transmitted through bodily fluids it would certainly be better to be safe than sorry. Someone mentinoed the PCR which is a blood test, for thsoe who don't know. It stands for Peroxidase chain reaction and has been used for quite some time for the detection of HPV DNA. It is not used commercially because it can be unreliable but in general it is a good test and around long before the current HC2 (hybrid capture 2) test by Qiagen or Cervista by SKL (Smith Kline Laboratories)
Just because your pap is negative does not mean that you are free of HPV. It only means that there is no HPV DNA present in that cervical specimen. You can still have HPV in the vagina or vulva or anal area and that's why all areas should be checked during a colposcopy. You cuold also have HPV in a different area of the cervix or within the cervical canal if the doctor did not perform an ECC (endocervical curettage). The HPV test is far more sensitive than the Pap especially when it come to lesions which are further advanced such as CIN2 and CIN3 lesions (64% vs 94%) and tha tis quite a spread.
One response I saw earlier on simply said: "Negative, negative, negative." Yes there is a lot of negative surrounding HPV. This is unfortunate but true and for good reasons especially if you happen to be one of those in whom the virus is not controlled by the immune system.
I have been dealing with HPV for over two decades and had HPV involve every single area that I mentiond above including two cases of invasive anal cancer (15 years apart, showing how the virus was dormant for all that time).
If there is one thing that needs to be focused on, it is that HPV is simply NOT only an issue of the cervix. The sooner people learn and understand that, the better off they will be.
Comment Reply
It seems that despite the number of times this question is answered in this post, there are those who continue to ask it. Not that it isn't a valid question, but there certainly have been enough answers provided here to eliminate the need to post the question yet again. Read the answers.
I would like to clarify something which I see a lot of women do and that is to refer to the various strains of HPV as strands like a strand of hair. The word is strain and yes there are over 100 different strains of HPV.
Unfortunately the wording still continues to confuse people especially the word "clear". As mentiond repeatedly above, the virus can go dormant and thus not be found on an HPV test however the virus is and always will remain in your body. It's that simple. If anyone tells you that it can be removed from your body they are incorrect.
I would also like to mention something which goes unmentioned far too often. Whenever any questions come up about HPV and pap and HPV tests inevitably the conversation turns to the cervix and cervical cancer. Rarely does anyone expand the comments to inform the posters that this isn't all about just cervical cancer.
Any time you have a colposcopy (not to be confused with colonoscopy which is a screening test for colon cancer) you should be asking your doctor to also look at the vagina, vulva and anus. Like cervical cancer, approximately 99% of anal cancers are also caused by HPV yet very few people are aware of this. If you have had CIN (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia) then you have a 37% increased risk of developing AIN (anal intraepithelial neoplaasia) and/or anal cancer. Also, a colonoscopy is NOT the test of choice for viewing anal HPV lesions, an anoscopy is. Many people also continue to confuse colon cancer and anal cancer. These cancers derive from totally different types of cells and are not connected at all.
The ACOG (American College of OB-GYN) have a complete list of recommendations regarding follow-up for HPV and/or positive pap tests. You can gain a signifiant amount of detailed information and references at thehpvsupportnetwork.org. The site is certified by HONCode which certifies sites as having medically accurate information so this should provide confidence with respect to what you are reading.
Lastly, I would like to comment on foamites. Up until recently it has been believed that HPV was transmitted via skin-to-skin contact and that intercourse was not a prerequesite to contracting the virus. There is recent research especially by Joel Palefky, MD probably the most influential individual on HPV, that transmission can also occur through foamites (inanimate objects). While we are not talking about a towel or toilet seat necessarily, Dr. Palefsky and others are firm believers that an object such as a finger can transport the virus from an infected area to a previous uninfected area. The virus has already been documented in urine, semen and breast milk and also saliva. This leads to the possibility of transmission through kissing. Since HPV has been shown to be present in 25% of head/neck/throat cancers (with HPV16 showing up in 90% of those cases) this concept is not so far fetched. After all, these are all bodily fluids and similar to AIDS which can also be transmitted through bodily fluids it would certainly be better to be safe than sorry. Someone mentinoed the PCR which is a blood test, for thsoe who don't know. It stands for Peroxidase chain reaction and has been used for quite some time for the detection of HPV DNA. It is not used commercially because it can be unreliable but in general it is a good test and around long before the current HC2 (hybrid capture 2) test by Qiagen or Cervista by SKL (Smith Kline Laboratories)
Just because your pap is negative does not mean that you are free of HPV. It only means that there is no HPV DNA present in that cervical specimen. You can still have HPV in the vagina or vulva or anal area and that's why all areas should be checked during a colposcopy. You cuold also have HPV in a different area of the cervix or within the cervical canal if the doctor did not perform an ECC (endocervical curettage). The HPV test is far more sensitive than the Pap especially when it come to lesions which are further advanced such as CIN2 and CIN3 lesions (64% vs 94%) and tha tis quite a spread.
One response I saw earlier on simply said: "Negative, negative, negative." Yes there is a lot of negative surrounding HPV. This is unfortunate but true and for good reasons especially if you happen to be one of those in whom the virus is not controlled by the immune system.
I have been dealing with HPV for over two decades and had HPV involve every single area that I mentiond above including two cases of invasive anal cancer (15 years apart, showing how the virus was dormant for all that time).
If there is one thing that needs to be focused on, it is that HPV is simply NOT only an issue of the cervix. The sooner people learn and understand that, the better off they will be.
September 23, 2010 - 6:46pmThis Comment
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