The human papillomavirus is serious ailment that affects tens of thousands of men and women. While the majority of the nearly 200 known types of HPV cause no symptoms in most people, some types can cause warts (verrucae), while others can lead to cancers of the cervix, vulva, vagina, and anus in women or cancers of the anus and penis in men. However, women are getting tested too much according to new studies, not only meaning damage to the wallet, but also the extra treatment sometimes assigned by doctors can lead to added unnecessary complications and side effects.

Philip Castle from the American Society for Clinical Pathology said:

“There’s a much greater emphasis on avoiding a single cancer versus literally thousands of women being over-screened and over-treated. The low-risk test really has no business being on the market at all. There’s a lot of HPV and very little disease in women in their 20s. The disease that’s found there is generally about 10 to 15 years away from becoming invasive. There’s no good justification for using the HPV test routine.”

Researchers looked at data from a national survey of doctors and clinics that use Pap tests. In total, 376 doctors and another 216 outpatient clinics responded to survey questions about whether and how they performed HPV testing. Three quarters of doctors and clinics had ordered an HPV test at least once, with more than half of those saying they used HPV testing regularly along with Pap smears in women less than 30 years old, a use not recommended by the American Cancer Society and other organizations.

There are about 40 different strains of sexually transmitted HPV, according to the Centers for Disease Control, and at least half of sexually active people will get HPV at some point. Some strains have been linked to cervical cancer, while others cause genital warts.

Doctors may be confused about which tests to order if they aren’t keeping up with current evidence according to Castle.

According to the National Cancer Institute:

“Testing samples of cervical cells is an effective way to identify high-risk types of HPV that may be present. The FDA has approved an HPV test as a follow-up for women who have an ambiguous Pap test and, for women over the age of 30, for general cervical cancer screening. This HPV test can identify at least 13 of the high-risk types of HPV associated with the development of cervical cancer. The test can detect high-risk types of HPV even before there are any conclusive visible changes to the cervical cells.”

Castle continues to say that in regard to testing in women under 30, cancer is quite rare. Routine HPV testing at that age could lead to biopsies and cancer treatments that aren’t really necessary along with a lot of stress and worry.

There is currently no specific treatment for HPV infection. However, the viral infection, more often than not, clears by itself. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the body’s immune system clears HPV naturally within two years for 90% of cases. However, experts do not agree on whether the virus is completely eliminated or reduced to undetectable levels, and it is difficult to know when it is contagious.

Sources: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and The National Cancer Institute

Written by Sy Kraft