Editing Cervical cancer (section)

===Human papillomavirus===
[[Human papillomavirus infection|Infection with HPV]] is generally believed to be required for cervical cancer to occur.<ref name=pmid16362994>{{cite journal | vauthors = Snijders PJ, Steenbergen RD, Heideman DA, Meijer CJ | title = HPV-mediated cervical carcinogenesis: concepts and clinical implications | journal = The Journal of Pathology | volume = 208 | issue = 2 | pages = 152–164 | date = January 2006 | pmid = 16362994 | doi = 10.1002/path.1866 | s2cid = 25400770 | doi-access = free }}</ref> HPV types 16 and 18 are the cause of 75% of cervical cancer cases globally, while 31 and 45 are the causes of another 10%.<ref>{{cite book| veditors = Dillman RK, Oldham RO |title=Principles of cancer biotherapy |year=2009 |publisher=Springer |location=Dordrecht|isbn=978-90-481-2289-9|page=149|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=emGC_fRJH_IC&pg=PA149|edition=5th |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029195259/https://books.google.com/books?id=emGC_fRJH_IC&pg=PA149|archive-date=29 October 2015}}</ref>

Women who have multiple sexual partners, or have partners who have multiple sexual partners, regardless of sex are at higher risk of cervical cancer.<ref name="ACS What Causes">{{cite web|url=http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_2_2X_What_causes_cancer_of_the_cervix_Can_it_be_prevented_8.asp?sitearea= |title=What Causes Cancer of the Cervix? |access-date=2 December 2007 |date=30 November 2006 |publisher=[[American Cancer Society]] |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071013160516/http://cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_2_2X_What_causes_cancer_of_the_cervix_Can_it_be_prevented_8.asp?sitearea= <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 13 October 2007}}</ref><ref name=pmid11392939>{{cite journal | vauthors = Marrazzo JM, Koutsky LA, Kiviat NB, Kuypers JM, Stine K | title = Papanicolaou test screening and prevalence of genital human papillomavirus among women who have sex with women | journal = American Journal of Public Health | volume = 91 | issue = 6 | pages = 947–952 | date = June 2001 | pmid = 11392939 | pmc = 1446473 | doi = 10.2105/AJPH.91.6.947 }}</ref>

Over 200 types of HPV known,<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=2019-03-01 |title=HPV and Cancer - NCI |url=https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/infectious-agents/hpv-and-cancer |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=www.cancer.gov |language=en}}</ref> 12 are classified as high-risk types (16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, and 59),<ref name=":4" /> three as probable high-risk (26, 53, and 66), and 12 as low-risk (6, 11, 40, 42, 43, 44, 54, 61, 70, 72, 81, and CP6108).<ref name=pmid12571259>{{cite journal |vauthors = Muñoz N, Bosch FX, de Sanjosé S, Herrero R, Castellsagué X, Shah KV, Snijders PJ, Meijer CJ |display-authors = 6 |title = Epidemiologic classification of human papillomavirus types associated with cervical cancer |journal = The New England Journal of Medicine |volume = 348 |issue = 6 |pages = 518–527 |date = February 2003 |pmid = 12571259 |doi = 10.1056/NEJMoa021641 |hdl-access = free |hdl = 2445/122831 |s2cid = 1451343 |url = https://revistasojs.ucaldas.edu.co/index.php/hacialapromociondelasalud/article/view/2173 }}</ref> Most cases of squamous cell carcinomas of the cervix are due to HPV type 16 and most cases of adenocarcinoma are due to HPV type 18.<ref name="Tewari 2025" /> High risk HPV viral subtypes can integrate their DNA into the host genome and induce [[transcription (biology)|transcription]] of the viral cancer causing proteins E6 and E7.<ref name="Tewari 2025" /><ref name="Peng 2024">{{cite journal |last1=Peng |first1=Qiu |last2=Wang |first2=Lujuan |last3=Zuo |first3=Liang |last4=Gao |first4=Shuichao |last5=Jiang |first5=Xianjie |last6=Han |first6=Yaqian |last7=Lin |first7=Jinguan |last8=Peng |first8=Mingjing |last9=Wu |first9=Nayiyuan |last10=Tang |first10=Yanyan |last11=Tian |first11=Hao |last12=Zhou |first12=Yujuan |last13=Liao |first13=Qianjin |title=HPV E6/E7: insights into their regulatory role and mechanism in signaling pathways in HPV-associated tumor |journal=Cancer Gene Therapy |date=January 2024 |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=9–17 |doi=10.1038/s41417-023-00682-3}}</ref> E6 degrades the tumor suppressing protein [[p53]] and E7 degrades and inactivates the tumor suppressing protein [[pRb]]. The loss of p53 and pRb leads to increased blood vessel growth feeding tumors (via [[vascular endothelial growth factor]](VEGF) over-expression), loss of tumor cell suppression and [[cell cycle]] regulation disruptions all of which can lead to cervical cancer.<ref name="Tewari 2025" />

[[Genital wart]]s, which are a form of [[benign tumor]] of [[epithelium|epithelial]] cells, are also caused by various strains of HPV. However, these serotypes are usually not related to cervical cancer. Having multiple strains at the same time is common, including those that can cause cervical cancer along with those that cause warts.