As mentioned earlier, some strains of HPV cause cervical cancer and also make people more likely to develop skin cancer in the genital area, particularly anal cancer and penile cancer in men and vulvar cancer in women. The percentage of people who have the genital warts virus and go on to develop cancer is very small, however, considering that 40-70 percent of the population may be infected with HPV.
Cancer of the vulva in women and the penis in men and anal carcinoma (particularly in men who receive anal sex from other men) are most commonly caused by types 16 and 18 of the virus, which are not the most common types that cause external warts. On the other hand, if warts in these areas of the body have an unusual appearance, a biopsy should be performed to screen for cancer. A health care provider who has experience in treating warts should be consulted.
Each year in the United States, approximately 16,000 women develop cervical cancer, and about 4000 women die each year from the disease. Types 16 and 18 of the warts virus have the strongest connection with cervical cancer, but some of the other strains have also been linked to cancer. HPV types 16 and 18 are the most common types of warts virus found in sexually active adults, and when cervical cancer lesions are studied, types 16 and 18 are found in the lesions about 90 percent of the time. However, these are not the types that usually cause external warts; those are types 6 and 11.
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