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Additional risks with extended infection?
I have five questions concerning the same issue, please bear with me. I was recently diagnosed with HPV after a dark spot was removed from my scrotum (went to derm. for moles) and was biopsied. My recent history is: monogomous relationship from 2002 to 2004, after that, still in 2004, a one time thing using a condom, then, from 2004 until present, I've been with the same woman (minus a one-time mistake in 2005, where I received oral) who is now my wife. My wife was a virgin. 1) Can the HPV last that long in my body and present symptoms (since the last possible exposure was 2005, through oral, and 2004, otherwise? The spot she removed may have been there a while, as it's not easily seen, but I thought people expelled it on their own, usually within 6 months. 2) Can I be rid of the virus with a wart left over from the previous infection? Also, my ex-wife had it (divorced in 2001), so it may even be left from that relationship. So, 3) does it mean that my wife and I have a strain which is more likely to cause complications/cancer, since it is lingering for so long? Or am I more likely to have complications/cancer b/c of a depressed immune system or something (no other reason to think I have a suppressed immune system). And, 4) what are the odds of getting it from oral?
Sorry for the length, I just kept reading that for a few unlucky people, the hpv persists and goes on to cause cancer/pre-cancer and I desperately want to know 5) if I should be extra concerned for my wife and I since it's been several years, or does the extended infection mean nothing as far as risk is concerned?
Thank you for your time.
Sorry for the length, I just kept reading that for a few unlucky people, the hpv persists and goes on to cause cancer/pre-cancer and I desperately want to know 5) if I should be extra concerned for my wife and I since it's been several years, or does the extended infection mean nothing as far as risk is concerned?
Thank you for your time.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
The risk of cancer in HPV infected persons is somewhat higher in smokers than non-smokers, but it isn't known whether this results directly from carcinogens, the effects of smoking on the immune system, or other factors. One study shows an interesting association of cervical cancer in some developing countries with intense exposure to smoke from cooking over wood stoves in small, poorly ventilated rooms. However, I don't closely the scientific aspects of HPV and cancer science. If any other data have linked HPV-related cancers with DMF or other carcinogens, I don't know about them.
But the entire issue probably is meaningless in real terms. If you're concerned about female partners, they can be totally protected from invasive cervical cancer by getting pap smears regularly, regardless of any increased risk from environmental carcinogens. And penile and other cancers in males are easily recognized when they are small and easily cured by local treatment, i.e. long before the disease risks penile amputation, death, or other serious outcomes. For these reasons, this is an interesting theoretical and intellectually interesting issue, but it probably makes no practical difference in your health or that of your sex partner(s).
But the entire issue probably is meaningless in real terms. If you're concerned about female partners, they can be totally protected from invasive cervical cancer by getting pap smears regularly, regardless of any increased risk from environmental carcinogens. And penile and other cancers in males are easily recognized when they are small and easily cured by local treatment, i.e. long before the disease risks penile amputation, death, or other serious outcomes. For these reasons, this is an interesting theoretical and intellectually interesting issue, but it probably makes no practical difference in your health or that of your sex partner(s).
I'm not sure if this falls within your area of expertise, but I've been accidentally exposed to concentrated carcinogens, like DMF (not a lot, but it was concentrated) due to the fact that I worked as a chemist for a while. The DMF is known for causing testicular cancer and I had my finger soaked in it for a while (torn glove). It's suspected of aiding other carcinogens in developing cancer (like cigarette smoke). Would HPV possibly be more likely to develop into cancer due to this exposure? Also, just to be clear, the fact that the infection has lingered in me does not mean an elevated risk of cancer from the HPV?
And basically, Thanks again for your advice!
And basically, Thanks again for your advice!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Directly to the questions:
1) Yes, genital warts can last that long. It's the exception to the rule, but not all that rare. You probably were not infected during the oral sex event, so your infection probably goes back to earlier exposures. You're never going to know when and from whom you caught it (and I don't see that it matters).
2) The presence of a wart means active HPV infection. If the virus had resolved, you would not have had a wart.
3,5) Duration of infection is less a risk of cancer than is the HPV type. Regardless of duration, the wart-causing HPV strains rarely cause cancer. Even the highest risk types of HPV rarely progress to overt cancer; and in any case, that outcome is prevented by regular pap testing, which detects abnormal cells before actual cancer develops. Your wife is not at significant risk for any sort of serious outcome. (There are only around 10,000 cases of invasive cervical cancer every year in the US, and almost all those are in women who don't get regular pap smears.) And HPV related cancer is very rare in men.
4) HPV is uncommonly transmitted by oral sex. It probably happens, but it is more likely your infection was acquired by genital sex sometime earlier, as I said above.
Bottom line: These events should be looked at as an unpleasant inconvenience, but not as an important health risk for either you or your wife. She should get regular pap smears, as should every woman, and you should follow the advice of the dermatologist who treated you. Otherwise, just live your life without worry. This situation isn't worth the energy you apparently are devoting to it.
Best wishes-- HHH, MD
1) Yes, genital warts can last that long. It's the exception to the rule, but not all that rare. You probably were not infected during the oral sex event, so your infection probably goes back to earlier exposures. You're never going to know when and from whom you caught it (and I don't see that it matters).
2) The presence of a wart means active HPV infection. If the virus had resolved, you would not have had a wart.
3,5) Duration of infection is less a risk of cancer than is the HPV type. Regardless of duration, the wart-causing HPV strains rarely cause cancer. Even the highest risk types of HPV rarely progress to overt cancer; and in any case, that outcome is prevented by regular pap testing, which detects abnormal cells before actual cancer develops. Your wife is not at significant risk for any sort of serious outcome. (There are only around 10,000 cases of invasive cervical cancer every year in the US, and almost all those are in women who don't get regular pap smears.) And HPV related cancer is very rare in men.
4) HPV is uncommonly transmitted by oral sex. It probably happens, but it is more likely your infection was acquired by genital sex sometime earlier, as I said above.
Bottom line: These events should be looked at as an unpleasant inconvenience, but not as an important health risk for either you or your wife. She should get regular pap smears, as should every woman, and you should follow the advice of the dermatologist who treated you. Otherwise, just live your life without worry. This situation isn't worth the energy you apparently are devoting to it.
Best wishes-- HHH, MD
You are reading content posted in the STDs Forum
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STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.
