Can Herpes in Women Cause Cervical Cancer?

Herpes is a kind of a sexually transmitted disease. A person with herpes and genital herpes can easily spread the herpes virus via skin contact. If you compare herpes to any flu virus that you can get through the air, herpes spreads by direct contact in the skin. This happens when a person with herpes or oral herpes or genital herpes, is in close or direct contact to a probable victim. For example, if you have oral herpes or herpes mouth sores and you kiss someone, then you can transfer the herpes virus to their mouths. Also, if you have active genital herpes outbreaks and you have vaginal or anal intercourse with another person, then you can spread the herpes virus to them as well. Lastly, if you have mouth sores caused by herpes or oral herpes and you put your mouth on other people’s genitals, or oral sex, then there is a chance that your partner will have genital herpes or oral herpes also.

Herpes, oral herpes, and genital herpes can easily spread when there are sores, but there are also other ways on how you can get herpes. For example, for oral herpes and genital herpes cases, some people with herpes feel an itch, some tingling, or other related sensations before the see the effects of herpes on their skin. This is what they call the prodromal symptoms of herpes and they tell us that the herpes virus may be present on your skin. With this initial signs of herpes, the herpes virus may already be spreading on your body. Whenever you feel these oral herpes or genital herpes symptoms then you have to control sexual contact, may it be oral, vaginal, or anal means.

Some people relate cervical cancer to the existence of herpes. Cervical cancer is a common disease of women, and some of these women affected with oral herpes or genital herpes wonders if it can probably lead to cervical cancer already. But what is cervical cancer and what is its relationship to oral herpes or genital herpes?

According to experts in the field of herpes and cancer, some common sexually transmitted disease or herpes to be exact could act as a catalyst in causing some cases of cervical cancer. Herpes, oral herpes, and, genital herpes appear to increase the risk of developing the cancer especially in women. It is already known that the human papilloma virus (HPV) causes most cases. But researchers and experts are suggesting that genital herpes, herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2) could act in conjunction with HPV to increase a woman’s risk of having cervical cancer due to herpes.

Women who have human papillomavirus (HPV) infection of the cervix have a greater risk of invasive cervical cancer if they also have genital herpes or any type of herpes. This is based on some case studies made on women with HPV and herpes or genital herpes. Women with invasive cervical cancer were also nearly twice as likely to have antibodies to herpes simplex virus type 2 (herpes virus or HSV-2). Among all women who had HPV-infected cervical cells, women who also had antibodies to herpes virus or HSV-2 had more than twice the risk of squamous cell carcinoma and more than three times the risk of adenocarcinoma.

A multivariate analysis was performed among HPV-positive women and women with herpes. HPV-infected women who were also positive for herpes virus or HSV-2 had more than twice the odds of squamous cell carcinoma found among HPV-infected women who tested negative for herpes virus or HSV-2 (2.2), and more than three times the odds of adenocarcinoma or adenosquamous cell carcinoma (3.4). Compared with herpes virus or HSV-2-positive women who had low-risk types of HPV, those who had high-risk HPV other than type 16 had 2.6-4.2 the odds of invasive cervical cancer.This study shows some interesting relationship between cervical cancer and herpes or genital herpes to be exact.