As the Guide to STDs here at About.com, I spend a lot of time writing about HPV related cancers. However, I was surprised when I discovered last year that lung cancer might be on that list. Research on the subject has been going on for years, but since I look at things from... a different angle, it had somehow slipped past my attention.
Although it's easy to think of all of these HPV-related cancers as being similar entities, the truth is really quite different. The relationship between HPV and cancer varies just as much as the different cancers that it causes.
The association between HPV and lung cancer is still quite tenuous, although researchers have been looking at the problem for some time. (My take on the reason why is somewhat different than Lynne's.) HPV may well turn out to be a cause of some lung cancers, but for now it clearly isn't as important a risk factor as tobacco use and related exposures.
In contrast, HPV seems to be behind the vast majority of cervical cancers. Other health and lifestyle factors play a role in cervical cancer's development, but the single most important risk factor for developing this disease is infection with HPV. That's why it's become such a high priority target for screening and vaccination programs.
Somewhere in the middle, scientifically but not anatomically, are oral and throat cancers. Over the past few years, scientists have found that the percentage of these cancers associated with HPV has been steadily on the rise, shifting away from a close association with various tobacco products. Interestingly, this has also come with an improvement in survivability, since HPV related oral cancers have been shown to often be somewhat less severe.
Elizabeth Boskey is About.com's Guide to Sexually Transmitted Diseases.
