Cervical Cancer - Causes & Risk Factors

Cervical Cancer - Causes

While there could be several factors putting women at risk for cervical cancer but for almost all cervical cancer cases the cause remains to be an infection from human papillomavirus (HPV).

Thankfully, not all infections with HPV cause cervical cancer. Most women get the HPV infection in their lifetime but the infectivity gets cleared on their own in some years. So for a full blown cervical cancer, other risk factors have a major role to play in culminating it to develop it as a cancerous disease.

Risk Factors for Cervical Cancer

Some genetic and lifestyle factors may increase the risk for HPV contraction, which may lead to cervical cancer, like

• first sexual intercourse at a young age
• multiple sex partners
• history of other sexually transmitted infections (such as gonorrhoea or chlamydia)
• sexual relation with a man whose partner has/had cervical cancer
• more than three 3 pregnancies or a pregnancy before the age of 17
• family history of cervical cancer
• long-term use of oral contraceptives (more than 5 years)
• weakened immune system
• smoking
• women whose partners are uncircumcised
• exposure to tetrachloroethylene, a chemical used in dry cleaning & metal degreasing
• unhygienic living conditions

All the above conditions may contribute to a pre-existing HPV infection in a woman and lead to cervical cancer

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is the main cause of cervical cancer in the majority of the cases. Many sexually active people come in contact with the human papillomavirus during their lifetime. In most of the cases, this virus does not cause any harm and it goes away without any treatment. However, some people are at high risk of getting cervical cancer. It includes many risk factors. Hence, getting complete health checkup is important. Indus Health Plus offers a complete scanning of the body and offers detailed reports of the examinations. To know more, fill the form and connect with us.