Atypical cells at 6 month exam after being diagnosed with HPV 16

My wife was diagnosed with HPV 16 in November of 2004. She went in this month for her 6-month check up and was told there are atypical cells developing. She is scheduled for another visit next Tuesday so that the doctor can use a scope to see the extent. (Why that couldn

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Your description sounds like your wife is fortunate:  she has found a doctor who knows a lot about HPV and is managing her correctly.  She probably had a mildly abnormal pap in November, for which the recommendation is to follow up with repeat pap smears.  The specific HPV type makes no difference in that advice.  But if she has now developed more abnormal cells, then she needs colposcopy (the doctor's "scope").

The normal course of infection with HPV 16 is that very few women get cancer.  Even the 0.1% risk you cite is on the high side; and that is without treatment.  With the management her doctor is providing, your wife's risk of invasive cancer is zero, for prctical purposes.  Your wife is absolutely wrong about her death sentence statement.

Your wife is following the same path as  ens of thousands of women in the U.S. every year.  Don't lose sleep over it.  Getting HPV, even with type 6, is a normal event; not desirable, but normal.

Good luck--  HHH, MD

NOTICE TO ALL FORUM READERS INTERESTED IN HPV AND GENITAL WARTS:  RUN, DO NOT WALK, TO READ THE LATEST INFORMATION FROM THE CDC.  TWO YEARS AGO, CONGRESS MANDATED SPECIAL EMPHASIS BY CDC'S STD DIVISION ON HPV AND ITS PREVENTION.  THE NEWLY DEVELOPED HPV INFORMATION IS ONE OF THE RESULTS.  THE DOCUMENTS ARE EXCELLENT IN EVERY WAY.  (THERE ARE SOME POLITICALLY DRIVEN STATEMENTS, INCLUDING SOME COMMENTS ABOUT NO GENITAL CONTACT, LIFELONG MONOGAMY, ETC, THAT ARE NOT RESPONSIVE TO MOST READERS' NEEDS.  BUT IN GENERAL, EXCELLENT INFORMATION.)

http://www.cdc.gov/std/HPV/STDFact-HPV.htm

[gab5]

This is not a death sentence for your wife.  The doctors will probably just freeze her cervix to kill the bad cells, and in all propability in less than a year her pap smears will be normal.  The most important issue here is that she identified the problem and follows-up with the appropriate treatment.

Good luck !!!

[worry_wart]

I was told today that i have atypical cells with HPV and i was wanting to ask some questions to see if i can find out any information on it so i can be prepared to deal with it. First of all what is it? I know it is a virus but other then that i don't know anything about it.How can you get it? Is it heredity or can you catch it? I have to go in July to have my second Copo exam my first one just had the atypical cells but this one is different and any information i can get I would truly appreciate it.Thank you so much for your time..W.W