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STDs (Expert Forum)
HPV Concern - Ex Girlfriend has Cervical Cancer
Answered by
University of Washington
Seattle - WA
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IMPORTANT
This forum is limited to questions about STDs other than HIV/AIDS. For questions about HIV prevention, or if you have general questions about safe sex (e.g., condoms, how to protect yourself from HIV and STDs), please visit the HIV Prevention and Safe Sex Forum
Some of the most common types of questions concern the risk of HIV or STD after a particular sexual exposure, and about symptoms that might or might not be due to HIV. If your question is along these lines, please visit the HIV Prevention and Safe Sex Forum.
This forum is limited to questions about STDs other than HIV/AIDS. For questions about HIV prevention, or if you have general questions about safe sex (e.g., condoms, how to protect yourself from HIV and STDs), please visit the HIV Prevention and Safe Sex Forum
Some of the most common types of questions concern the risk of HIV or STD after a particular sexual exposure, and about symptoms that might or might not be due to HIV. If your question is along these lines, please visit the HIV Prevention and Safe Sex Forum.
HPV Concern - Ex Girlfriend has Cervical Cancer
by mich2000, Mar 06, 2007 12:00AM
I'm a 34 year old heterosexual male and I was recently informed that my previous girlfriend of 3 years ago had recently come down with cervical cancer, she also recently informed me that she had an abnormal PAP test 10+ years prior to meeting me which lead to her Doctor performing a slight "scrapping" of her cervix over a decade ago.
The relationship I had with my previous girlfriend was very short – only about 2 months. However, we were sexually active in terms of oral sex (giving and receiving) without a condom, but we only had actual intercourse three times, and I used a condom each time. However, one time I believe I stuck my penis inside her vagina without a condom for just a few seconds (5 at most).
I have not had any symptoms of any kind of STD infection. For the past 3 years my current girlfriend and I have had an active sex life and very rarely used condoms. My current girlfriend recently got a PAP test and an HPV test. The HPV test was negative and the PAP test was normal.
1) If I had high-risk HPV, wouldn't my current girlfriend by now (3 yrs)?
2) Is a person is less likely to clear the high-risk HPV virus as they get older?
3) Should I inform a future partner of my previous girlfriend's cervical cancer at all?
4) What do you think are my chances of having a high-risk HPV? Worrying too much?
5) Lastly, when you say that a person is almost sure to have been infected with HPV if they have had more than 3-4 sexual partners, are you referring to high-risk HPV?
The relationship I had with my previous girlfriend was very short – only about 2 months. However, we were sexually active in terms of oral sex (giving and receiving) without a condom, but we only had actual intercourse three times, and I used a condom each time. However, one time I believe I stuck my penis inside her vagina without a condom for just a few seconds (5 at most).
I have not had any symptoms of any kind of STD infection. For the past 3 years my current girlfriend and I have had an active sex life and very rarely used condoms. My current girlfriend recently got a PAP test and an HPV test. The HPV test was negative and the PAP test was normal.
1) If I had high-risk HPV, wouldn't my current girlfriend by now (3 yrs)?
2) Is a person is less likely to clear the high-risk HPV virus as they get older?
3) Should I inform a future partner of my previous girlfriend's cervical cancer at all?
4) What do you think are my chances of having a high-risk HPV? Worrying too much?
5) Lastly, when you say that a person is almost sure to have been infected with HPV if they have had more than 3-4 sexual partners, are you referring to high-risk HPV?
Doctor's Answer
by H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D., Mar 06, 2007 12:00AM
, Mar 06, 2007 12:00AM
Having a partner with cervical cancer is not a sign of increased HPV risk in men, or increased risk of transmitting HPV to other people. Oral HPV infection can occur by genital contact, but appears to be uncommon and virtually never causes symptoms. As a sexually active person, the odds are good you have been infected with HPV in the past, including infection with high risk (cancer-causing) types. That you happen to know of one such partner, but not the others, does not alter your risk and should not be of concern to you. Condoms are not recommended for partners in which the woman has cervical HPV infection, with or without cervical cancer or pre-cancerous lesions.
To your questions: 1) Your exposure says little about the risk a later partner would catch high-risk HPV from you. You might not have been infected; or if you were, your infection might have cleared up before having sex with your current partner; or she might have been infected but nothing ever showed up on paps or other exam; or she might have not been infected, because she was immune owing to some past infection she didn't know about. You will never know which of these explains the absence of a problem in your partner, and it really doesn't matter.
2) No, clearance efficiency does not decline with aging, as far as I know. 2) There is no need to inform future partners of anything. 4) Whether or not you ever actually were infected with a high-risk HPV type it is unlikely you continue to carry it. You definitely are worrying too much. 5) The statistic that 70-80% of people acquire HPV during their first 3-4 lifetime partners refers to all HPV types. But high-risk types are among them.
Bottom line: Everybody with concerns about HPV should keep their antennas up for future developments. It is a rapidly moving field, and some of today's truths could prove wrong. But it truly is fair to say you have no reason to be worried about HPV.
Good luck-- HHH, MD
To your questions: 1) Your exposure says little about the risk a later partner would catch high-risk HPV from you. You might not have been infected; or if you were, your infection might have cleared up before having sex with your current partner; or she might have been infected but nothing ever showed up on paps or other exam; or she might have not been infected, because she was immune owing to some past infection she didn't know about. You will never know which of these explains the absence of a problem in your partner, and it really doesn't matter.
2) No, clearance efficiency does not decline with aging, as far as I know. 2) There is no need to inform future partners of anything. 4) Whether or not you ever actually were infected with a high-risk HPV type it is unlikely you continue to carry it. You definitely are worrying too much. 5) The statistic that 70-80% of people acquire HPV during their first 3-4 lifetime partners refers to all HPV types. But high-risk types are among them.
Bottom line: Everybody with concerns about HPV should keep their antennas up for future developments. It is a rapidly moving field, and some of today's truths could prove wrong. But it truly is fair to say you have no reason to be worried about HPV.
Good luck-- HHH, MD
I'm not a doctor, but I have done quite a bit of research on HPV lately because I was told I had it about 2 months ago. I had an abnormal pap, and they told me I had a high risk strain of HPV. So now I have to go back every three months for awhile to make sure that my paps come back normal, as to catch it before I get cervical cancer.
Here is what I know.
1. Almost every sexually active person has or will have HPV at least one time in their lives. I think the percentage is up to 80%. Which means if you have had sex with 4 different people, most likely you have HPV.
2. 3 out of 4 people who have HPV don't know it and will never develop symptoms. There are currently no tests for males, and if its the strain that causes cervical cancer and NOT warts, there is no way for a man to know.
3. You can have HPV for years and years, and never have any symptoms. In addition, you can get symptoms (abnormal pap or warts) years later from an infection you had previous.
4. Just because you have HPV doesn't mean you will ever develop warts OR cervical cancer.
5. Although condoms do help, you can get HPV by sex with a condom, because the virus is in the skin.
Lastly... HPV is NOT a big deal. Trust me, I thought it was at first, and my anxiety levels were outrageous. But for me, it just means that I have to have paps on a more regular basis to be sure they come back normal. And if they don't, because I"m cautious I can catch pre-cancerous cells before they become cancerous. I have already had an additional pap, a colposkopy and a biopsy and all came back normal, this only months after they told me I had it. My body may come immune to the virus and I may never have sympotms agai. Knock on wood, I hope this is the case. But I could have gotten HPV the very first time I had sex and never known it.
ALSO even if your currect girlfriend DOES have hpv, and later comes down with symptoms does NOT mean she got it from you. Assuming she was sexually active before you, she could have gotten it from anyone.
Make sense? The more I read about HPV, the more I realize its a very livable thing, and nothing to stress over. Though it is very good to be cautious. Its so common, that soon I wouldn't doubt if EVERY sexually active person has one strain or another.
I think that I could surmise a few based upon what I have read. What do you think of the following?
For women. . .
HPV +/ LSIL/ HSIL women - Tell partners until 6 months of normal tests
ASCUS women- No need for disclosure (ASCUS is too non-specific as a result)
For men. . .
No need for disclosure regarding any previous partners status. You'll never know if you have or had it. (And you've probably had it.)
I'm bringing this up because both the CDC and ASHA are wishy-washy about this and I feel that the Digene website for the HPV test is too commercial.
LiveLearn - the problem is men don't know if they contracted the non-wart causing type of HPV since there are no symptoms or tests.
I understand your argument if you have the wart causing type of HPV that keeps popping up reminding you that you are indeed infected. Your partner will eventually visually find this out on his/her own. I think.
However, men that do not have the wart causing type (or perhaps don't have any type for all they know) never really know if they contracted it, or contracted it and resolved it by their immune process.
According to the Doc, we do know that 70 - 80% of all sexually active people come in contact with HPV (all types) at some point, then again that still doesn't tell us men if we contracted the non-symptom type or if we contracted it and resolved it by our immune process - we just don't know.
Me, on the other hand, had a previous girlfriend that likely had a high-risk type HPV infection (since she had cervical cancer), but I still don't know if I have it or had it. I know that I'm sexually active, so I may have contracted it at some point - maybe with my previous girlfriend or someone else. I really don't know.
I'm not sure if telling a future partner that I had a previous girlfriend that likely had a high-risk HPV is any more informative or useful than telling her that most sexually active people (including me) come in contact with HPV