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HPV Dating
HPV and Cervical Cancer
Cervical CancerWhile HPV infection is the leading cause of cervical cancer, in reality it is very rare for HPV infection to progress to cancer with proper treatment. 60 to 80 % of CIN 1 dysplasias resolve on their own, and only about 1% of cases progress to invasive cervical cancer.
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HPV Dating Advice
HPV CLEARANCE Are You dealing with the complex emotions of dating with HPV? We're here to give you the facts and some advice get your dating life back on track!
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How Common is HPV?
HPV STATISTICSStudies suggest as many as 80% of people will aquire genital HPV. Several estimates have placed the lifetime likelihood of exposure to HPV in the range of 75-90% though most will not show symptoms.
Sources

HPV CLEARANCE INFORMATION
HPV Clearance rates...
Center for Disease Control:
"Studies have shown that 70% of new HPV infections clear within one year, as many as 91% clear within two years. The median duration of new infections is typically eight months. HPV-16 is more likely to persist than other HPV types; however most HPV-16 infections become undetecable within two years. The gradual development of an effective immune response is thought to be the likely mechanism for HPV DNA clearance."
Source: CDC 2004 Report to Congress on Prevention of HPV
Planned Parenthood:
"The average duration of HPV infection was eight months. Repeated HPV DNA testing showed that seventy percent of the women cleared their HPV infections within one year through the natural immune process, and only nine percent continued to be infected after two years. Another study conducted in Sweden supported these findings, with a five-year clearance rate of 92 percent"
Source: HPV: The Most Common Sexually Transmitted Virus - www.plannedparenthood.org


What Does HPV "Clearance" Mean?
Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP):
"Most people (up to 90%) who test positive for HPV with very sensitive tests for HPV (polymerase chain reaction [PCR] and Hybrid Capture® II) will become HPV negative on the same tests within 6-24 months from first testing positive. This is due to an effective immune response to HPV."
Source: Human Papillomavirus and Cervical Cancer Quick Reference For Clinicians - www.arhp.org

I thought HPV infection was for life...
ADVANCE Nurse Practitioners guide:
"Experts no longer think that HPV is a chronic lifetime virus. HPV infections of the anogenital tract are usually transient and cleared to undetectable levels in short duration. Low-risk HPV infections spontaneously clear more readily than high-risk types."
Source: Human Papillomavirus and Cervical Cancer Screening - www.advancefornp.com

I thought there was "no cure"...
Indiana University
"Since HPV is a virus, there is no cure. However, new studies indicate that approximately 70-90% of people with HPV may clear the virus from the body within two years of infection."
Source: HPV Page at University of Indiana Health - www.indiana.edu

How does the body clear HPV?
American Social Health Association (ASHA):
"In almost all cases, the immune system will keep the HPV virus (including the cancer-related HPV types) under control or get rid of it completely."
Source: HPV Resource Center - www.ashastd.org




  • Below are links to articles and studies relating to Clearance of HPV
  • These are presented for education only. Always follow your Doctors diagnosis or advice.
    • HPV tends to be a transient infection in the majority of women, even those who are considered at high risk for cervical cancer.
    A total of 1,425 women participated in the study. Of these women, 357 tested positive for HPV at least once during the study. New infections occurred at a rate of 1.3 percent per month during the study. The monthly clearance rate was higher for nononcogenic HPV types than for the oncogenic types. The mean duration of infection was 8.2 months for the nononcogenic HPV types and 13.5 months for the oncogenic types.
    http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m3225/5_61/61432762/p1/article.jhtml
    HPV-related genital lesions in men. 95% cure rate
    Screening of the asymptomatic male partners of women with genital condyloma or intraepithelial neoplasia has shown that about 50% of the individuals examined present genital HPV-associated lesions. Half to two thirds of these lesions are clinically invisible and are detected only after the acetic acid test. Current treatment protocols allow a 95% cure rate by easily applicable outpatient treatment modalities.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1330920&dopt=Abstract
    CDC 2004 HPV Report To Congress
    "Studies have shown that 70% of new HPV infections clear within one year, as many a 91% clear within two years. The median duration of new infections is typically eight months. HPV-16 is more likely to persist that other HPV types; however most HPV-16 infections become undetecable within two years. The gradual development of an effective immune repose is though to be the likely mechanism for HPV DNA clearnace."
    http://www.cdc.gov/std/HPV/2004HPV%20Report.pdf
    the overwhelming majority of these lesions clear in 36-40 months.
    Watchful observation by cytology, rather than colposcopy, may be the most appropriate way to manage low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions in adolescent women because the overwhelming majority of these lesions clear in 36-40 months.The 10-year follow-up study of 187 patients aged 13-22 years with LSIL indicated that 95% showed LSIL regression by 36 months after diagnosis
    http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m0CYD/18_37/92457314/p1/article.jhtml
    natural history of genital infection by human papillomavirus
    Human papillomavirus genital infection is a very common sexual transmitted disease, probably the most common of them. On one hand, this infection is more often than not transient and asymptomatic and induces an effective immunity which allows the infection cure;This clearance is the consequence of host immunity intervention which leads to spontaneous regression of infection and of the overwhelming majority of low grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (more than 80% within a period of two years)
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11910884&dopt=Abstract
    more than half cleared their high risk HPV virus in 7.5 months
    We performed a prospective study including 781 women with normal, atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) or low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LGSIL) cytology, and infected or not by high-risk (HR) HPV tested by Hybrid Capture II. Women were followed up every 6 months for a median period of 22 months. Among the HR-HPV-positive women at entry, more than half cleared their virus in 7.5 months
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12845680&dopt=Abstract
    the majority of episodes with a type-specific HPV infection cleared within 2 years
    The objectives of this study were to evaluate the rate of acquisition and clearance of specific HPV types in young women. Female university students (n = 621) in Montreal were followed for 24 months at 6-month intervals. At each visit, a cervical specimen was collected. The mean durations of incident, same-type LR or HR HPV infections were 13.4 months and 16.3 months, respectively. Whereas the majority of episodes with a type-specific HPV infection cleared within 2 years
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12814991&dopt=Abstract
    Prevalence of human papillomavirus infection among women in Concordia, Argentina: a population-based study.
    GOAL: The goal was to evaluate HPV prevalence and determinants in Concordia, Argentina.CONCLUSION: A clear pattern of decreasing prevalence of HPV with age was observed. This could be explained by development of immunity against specific types over time
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12897679&dopt=Abstract
    Factors predicting human papillomavirus clearance in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia lesions treated by conization.
    OBJECTIVE: The objective was to identify the factors, if any, that may predict long-term results of CIN treatment and HPV clearance/persistence after locally excisional therapy. HPV clearance increased to 63.5% at completion of the follow-up, corresponding to the monthly clearance rate of 5.27%. In Kaplan-Meier analysis, the highly significant (P = 0.0001) predictors of HPV clearance/persistence were age, lesion grade in the biopsy, lesion grade in the cone, volume of the cone, length of active sexual life, and involvement of endocervical margin (P = 0.0013).
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12893200&dopt=Abstract
    A large proportion of the women who were HPV-positive appeared to have cleared the infection after one year.
    Women enrolled in an earlier HPV prevalence survey (500 of 800 who were HPV-negative and all 121 who were HPV-positive) were invited to participate in follow-up HPV testing at their periodic health examination one year later. A large proportion of the women who were HPV-positive appeared to have cleared the infection after one year.
    http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=143547
    The risk of vertical transmission to the oral or genital region of newborns is rare
    BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this investigation was to determine the risk of vertical and early contact transmission of human papillomavirus (HPV) in newborn infants. CONCLUSION: The risk of vertical transmission to the oral or genital region of newborns is rare, and transmission between parents and the hospitalized newborn does not appear to occur.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=14695959
    RESULTS: The calculated median cure time of the HPV-positive men was 15.2 months
    GOAL OF THIS STUDY: To evaluate the clinical course and possible prognostic factors of genital HPV infections in men.RESULTS: The calculated median cure time of the HPV-positive men was 15.2 months
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7817261&dopt=Abstract
    most HPV infections become undetectable by even sensitive HPV DNA testing within 1 to 2 years
    Approximately 15 types of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection cause virtually all cases of cervical cancer. Human papillomavirus 16 is the major type, accounting for approximately 50% of cases. The major steps of cervical carcinogenesis include HPV infection, viral persistence and progression to precancer (as opposed to viral clearance), and invasion. Human papillomavirus is the most common sexually transmitted infection. However, most HPV infections become undetectable by even sensitive HPV DNA testing within 1 to 2 years. The prevalence of infection peaks at young ages and declines thereafter, perhaps as the result of HPV type-specific acquired immunity.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12873163&dopt=Abstract
    Rate of human papillomavirus clearance after treatment of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.
    OBJECTIVE: To investigate the rate of clearance of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection after surgical treatment for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) CONCLUSION: Surgical treatment of CIN usually results in clearance of HPV infection within 3 months.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12423862&dopt=Abstract
    Condom use promotes regression of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and clearance of human papillomavirus: a randomized clinical trial.
    Women in the condom group showed a 2-year cumulative regression rate of 53% vs. 35% in the noncondom group (p = 0.03). The 2-year cumulative rates of HPV clearance were 23% vs. 4%, respectively (p = 0.02). Although lower regression rates were found if women were HPV-positive and had > or =CIN2 lesions at baseline, effects of condom use were found both in women with CIN1 and in women with > or =CIN2 lesions. Condom use promotes regression of CIN lesions and clearance of HPV.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14566832&dopt=Abstract
    High long-term cure rate justifies routine treatment of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade I
    The long-term clearance of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) Grade 1 after one treatment was studied retrospectively in 105 patients.The results of this study suggest that CIN 1 can be effectively eradicated in more than 80% of women with 1 treatment alone.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=7677687&dopt=Abstract


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  • HPV Clearance - According to studies up to 90% of those infected with HPV clear the virus from their body within 8-24 months.
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  • How To Tell Your Partner About HPV Cervical Changes - a guide to telling your partner about abnormal pap smear results
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  • Why Tell A New Partner About HPV - with HPV being so common, and often times transient why do you need to disclose?
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  • HPV and Condoms: The Great Debate - should we teach abstinence only education? Is HPV infection deadly?
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  • HPV Primer - Information about HPV, Genital Warts, Pap Smears and more for those who need to know
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