Gynecology & Obstetrics
Open Access
ISSN: 2161-0932
ISSN: 2161-0932
Joseph Menczer, Erez Ben-Shem, Abraham Golan and Tally Levy
Risk factors for HPV infection and cervical cancer are similar in other populations. They include early coitarche, multiple partners and smoking. The prevalence of Genital Warts (GW) is high in the Israeli Jewish women while the incidence of cervical cancer is persistently low. The purpose of the present study is to compare Israeli Jewish women with GW to those with uterine Squamous Cell Cervical Cancer (SCC) with regard to selected risk factors.
Women with GW and women with SCC diagnosed during 2000-2012 filled out a prestructured questionnaire containing queries regarding demographic data, and data regarding reproductive factors, sexual habits and smoking. A comparison between the two groups regarding these variables was performed.
The study group comprised 78 women with GW and 86 SCC patients. Significantly more women with GW were younger than 29 years, were born in Israel, and were single and nulligravid. Significantly fewer women with GW conceived before the age of 29 and had 6 ore more children. These findings are explained by the younger age of the GW patients. However, regarding the main risk factors for cervical cancer, there was no significant difference between them and SCC patients regarding the number of sexual partners, smoking habits, and there was a significant excess of women with GW with coitarche at 17 years or less.
Our data indicate that the risk factors for the presence of GW in Israeli Jewish women are similar to those with cervical cancer and thus they may be at risk for this neoplasm.
Enital Human Papillomavirus (HPV) types are classified as low risk and high risk, according to the association with epithelial cancers. Among the more than 100 HPV types that have been described only 4 types are responsible for the majority of anogenital lesions. Approximately 90% of genital warts (GW- condilomata acuminate) are caused by HPV 6 or 11, and up to 70% of cervical cancers are caused by HPV 16 or 18 [1]. In other populations the risk factors for HPV infection are similar to those for SCC namely early coitarche, multiple partners and smoking. The prevalence of GW is high in the Israeli Jewish [2] and similar to that in other countries [3], while the incidence of cervical cancer is persistently low [4].
The purpose of the present investigation was to compare Israeli Jewish women with GW to those with uterine Squamous Cell Cervical Cancer (SCC) with regard to selected risk factors.