On the left side of the screen, you see that HPV is very prevalent in young
people. Most people get it when they’re
young, and most people get over it. But
after about age 30 it gets to a chronically infected, persistently infected,
group of individuals that may be 5 to 10 percent, and that’s who we are looking
for when we test for HPV on the cervix.
So there is this sweet spot. Over
30, the cancers become more common, and the insignificant infections that are
going to resolve on their own go away.
So we are looking for over the age of 30 where we can actually screen, and we
are going to talk about the guidelines for HPV on the cervix. This is where we begin screening, is at age
30, again looking for persistent infection, looking for the increase in
cervical disease.
[27] Melkert PW et al. Int J Cancer. 1993;53:919-323;
[28] Ries LAG et al. eds. SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2005. National Cancer Institute. Bethesda, MD.
Available at: http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2005;
[29] Sherman ME et al. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2003;95:46-52; 4. Rozendaal L et al. Int J Cancer. 1996;68:766-769.
