Who Should Get the HPV Vaccine? Medical Author: Melissa Conrad
Stöppler, MD Medical Editor: William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP,
FACR Human papillomavirus(HPV) infection of the cervix can lead
to cervical cancer. A vaccine designed to prevent cervical
cancer and other diseases caused by infection with HPVs was
approved for use in the U.S. in June 2006. This is the first
vaccine to be developed against a known risk factor for the
development of a cancer. While some HPV types infect the skin
and cause benign wartsand other lesions, about 40 types of HPVs
can infect the genital tract. Genital HPV infection is very
common in the general population; estimates suggest that up to
50% of all sexually active people will be infected at some point
in their lives. In the majority of cases, the infection does not
cause any symptoms, but in some women, HPV infection can
progress to cause precancerous and cancerous lesions of the
uterine cervix. HPVs that infect the genital area are also
associated with other less common genital