How is HPV Treated?
Treating HPV is often difficult and frustrating for both the patient and physician. Treatment of visible genital warts for the average patient often requires several treatments before symptoms subside. These treatments are not cures. After treatment the virus may remain in nearby skin and lie dormant for months or even years before becoming visible again, and in some cases visible warts never return.
According to the "1998 Guidelines for Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases" published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA, "In the absence of coexistent dysplasia, treatment is not recommended for subclinical genital HPV (without visible genital warts) diagnosed by Pap smear, colposcopy, biopsy, acetic acid soaking of genital skin or mucous membranes, or the detection of HPV (DNA or RNA). The diagnosis of subclinical genital HPV infection is often questionable, and no therapy has been identified to eradicate infection. HPV has been demonstrated in adjacent tissue after laser treatment of HPV-associated dysplasia and after attempts to eliminate subclinical HPV by extensive laser vaporization of the anogenital area. In the presence of coexistent dysplasia, management should be based on the grade of dysplasia."
The CDC recommends treatments of visible HPV genital warts that vary from patient-applied therapies such as podofilox and imiquimod to provider-administered therapies such as cryotherapy, podophyllin resin, trichloroacetic acid (TCA), bicholoracetic acid (BCA), interferon, and surgery.
Preventing HPV, Preventing Cervical Cancer
Because we know that the type of HPV virus without genital warts is the cause of cervical cancers, and there is no treatment for this type of HPV, prevention of HPV is a key factor in the prevention of cervical cancer. Preventing HPV includes the same recommendations as for prevention of other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), specifically meticulous condom use by all sexually active individuals who are not in long-term monogamous relationships.
Limiting the number of sexual partners you have in your lifetime may also be a significant component in the prevention of HPV and the associated increased risk of cervical cancer (evidence suggests that people with multiple sexual partners have a much higher incidence of HPV and cervical cancer).
Needless to say, if your sexual partner tells you that he/she has HPV, genital warts, or any other STD--see your physician immediately!
Updated: 05/17/06
