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SIXTY PERCENT OF YOUNG WOMEN HAVE VENEREAL WARTS
During a three-year period, 60 percent of female students in one university were infected with venereal warts, a virus that causes 100 percent of cancers of the cervix (1), but only one in 200 women with warts will get cervical cancer.
Venereal warts can appear as bumps on the genitals or rectum or they can be invisible. Doctors first dip gauze pads in vinegar, wrap them around the suspected area, cover the gauze with saran wrap and after ten minutes, use a magnifying glass to look for white dots which can be the warts. The patient can treat the warts herself by applying podophyllin solution or Imiquimid cream. However, if the warts persist, the doctor can mark each wart with a special marking pencil and anesthetize each area.
All white dots are not necessarily warts, so doctors often have to remove a piece of the wart and send it to a pathologist for analysis. The doctor then burns a wide area around the warts with a special electrocautery and then injects freshly-mixed gamma interferon into the base of each wart (2-5). Another treatment is interferon injections three times a week for 8 weeks along with 80 mg per day of the acne drug, Accutane (6,7,8). For women who already have precancerous changes in their cervix, interferon injections and retinoic acid cream applied topically can reverse precancerous and even cancerous changes (9,10,11).
There are more than 62 different types of venereal wart viruses, but only three or four types are very likely to cause the cancer. Of the women who are infected with warts, the vast majority will get rid of them (12), while the ones who have them persistently are those who are at increased risk for cancer. (13) Blood tests can be used to check persistence. (14) A diet that is high in fruits and vegetables helps to protect women with warts from developing cervical cancer. Those who have the lowest blood levels of folic acid and the antioxidant vitamins are most likely to develop cancer (15,16,17,18).
1) Ho GYF, Bierman R, et al. Natural history of cervicovaginal papillovirus infection in young women. NEJM 1998(Feb 12);338(7):423-428.
2)A Hildesheim, MH Schiffman, PE Gravitt, AG Glass, CE Greer, T Zhang, DR Scott, BB Rush, P Lawler, ME Sherman, RJ Kurman, MM Manes Journal of Infectious Diseases 1994(Feb); 169(2):235-240.
3) JJ Klutke, A Bergman. Interferon as an adjuvant treatment for genital condyloma acuminatum. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics 49: 2(MAY 1995): 171-174. Interferon once a week for 8 weeks plus laser or 5FU.
4)I Arany, P Rady, SK Tyring. Effect of interferon therapy on human papillomavirus copy number in patients with Condyloma acuminatum. American Journal of the Medical Sciences 310:1. (JUL1995): 14-18.
5) J Backe, T Roos, H Kaesemann, J Martius, M Ott. Laser and interferon therapy of genital HPV-positive lesions. Gynakologisch Geburtshilfliche Rundschau 35: 2(JUN 1995):79-84.
6)Friedman-Klein A. Management of condyloma acuminata with alferon injection, interferon alfa-n3. Am J Obstet Gynevol 1995(April);172(4):1359-1368.
7)EK Cardamakis, IGB Kotoulas, DP Dimopoulos, EN Stathopoulos, JT Michopoulos, VA Tzingounis. Comparative study of systemic Interferon alfa-2a with oral isotretinoin and oral isotretinoin alone in the treatment of recurrent condylomata accuminata. Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics 258: 1(JAN 1996):35-41.
8) Interferon alfa-2a (3 million units three times a week for 8 weeks) and oral isotretinoin (80 mg/day) cured warts faster (1.9 vs 2.5 months) than isotretonin alone.
9) F Kokelj, G Stinco, P Torsello. Efficacy of intramuscular interferon-beta in reducing relapses in the treatment of male patients with condylomata acuminata. Journal of Dermatological Treatment 7: 1 (MAR 1996):7-9.
9a) LA Levine, L Elterman, DB Rukstalis. Treatment of subclinical intraurethral human papilloma virus infection with interferon alfa-2B (instilation). Urology 47: 4 (APR 1996):553-557.
10) FL Meyskens, A Manetta. Prevention of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical cancer. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 62: 6 Suppl.(DEC 1995):S1417-S1419.
11)LS Massad, ME Turyk, P Bitterman, GD Wilbanks. Interferon-alpha and all-trans-retinoic acid reversibly inhibit the in vitro proliferation of cell lines derived from cervical cancers. Gynecologic Oncology 60: 3 (MAR 1996):428-434.
12) SA Hinchliffe, D Vanvelzen, H Korporaal, PL Kok, ME Boon. Transience of cervical HPV infection in sexually active, young women with normal cervicovaginal cytology. British Journal of Cancer 72: 4 (OCT 1995):943-945. In 93% (25/27) of initially infected women, the same viral type was not detected upon re-examination four menstrual cycles later. These results suggest that the majority of HPV infections in young women are transient.
13) GYF Ho, RD Burk, S Klein, AS Kadish, CJ Chang, P Palan, J Basu, R Tachezy, R Lewis, S Romney. Persistent genital human papillomavirus infection as a risk factor for persistent cervical dysplasia. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 87: 18(SEP 20 1995):1365-1371.
14) L Wideroff, MH Schiffman, B Nonnenmacher, N Hubbert, R Kirnbauer, CE Greer, D Lowy, AT Lorincz, MM Manos, AG Glass, DR Scott, ME Sherman, RJ Kurman, J Buckland, RE Tarone, J Schiller. Evaluation of seroreactivity to human papillomavirus type 16 virus-like particles in an incident case-control study of cervical neoplasia. Journal of Infectious Diseases 172: 6 (DEC 1995):1425-1430. An ELISA to detect serum IgG antibody response to HPV.
15) N Potischman, LA Brinton. Nutrition and cervical neoplasia. Cancer Causes & Control 7: 1 (JAN 1996):113-126 Low vitamin C, folic acid and carotenoid status are associated fairly consistently with both cervical cancer and precursors.
16) PR Palan, MS Mikhail, GL Goldberg, J Basu, CD Runowicz, SL Romney. Plasma levels of beta-carotene, lycopene, canthaxanthin, retinol, and alpha- and tau-tocopherol in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cancer. Clinical Cancer Research 2: 1 (JAN 1996):181-185.
17) JM Childers, J Chu, LF Voigt, P Feigl, HK Tamimi, EW Franklin, DS Alberts, FL Meyskens. Chemoprevention of cervical cancer with folic acid: A phase III Southwest Oncology Group Intergroup Study. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention 4: 2(MAR 1995):155-159. Our data support the conclusion that supplementation with folic acid (5 mg/day) does not enhance the regression of early epithelial abnormalities of the cervix.
18) A Kwasniewska, A Tukendorf, M Semczuk. Content of alpha-tocopherol in blood serum of human Papillomavirus-infected women with cervical dysplasias. Nutrition and Cancer - an International Journal 28:3(1997):248-251.
Checked 8/9/05