Monk - Figure 9 - Evolution of HPV Infection Text

Monk - Figure 9 - Evolution of HPV Infection

I wanted to show you what these lesions look like.  So on the left is the HPV infection, and again you can’t see any phenotypic abnormalities; there are no cellular changes.  But if women or men don’t get over these infections, you can get pre cancerous lesions, and in the cervix that is called cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, and you can see here they are kind of white.  We can put acetic acid or vinegar, if you will, on the cervix and turn these lesions white, and you can see that.  And again, many of these early lesions go away.  Most go away.  It’s great.  But some progress to cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2 or 3, and ultimately over years, if not screened, detected, and treated, form a cancer.  And if the cancer, of course, is not treated, the woman ultimately dies of that.  So, less than 10% of the HPV infections persist.  So over 90% of the time when you get the virus you get over it.  Your mission, my mission, our mission is to find those women that got it when they were young and persist into their older ages, and to screen them more heavily.