Ask the Experts: HPV (Human Papillomavirus): Disease Issues

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. HPV is so common that nearly all sexually active men and women contract the virus at some point in their lives. In the United States, more than 42 million people are infected with the types of HPV known to cause disease, and an estimated 13 million new HPV infections occur every year among people age 15 through 59 years. Approximately half of new infections occur among people age 15 through 24 years. The first HPV infection typically occurs within a few months to years of becoming sexually active.

Most HPV infections are asymptomatic and go away completely on their own within 2 years after infection (usually in the first 6 months) without causing clinical disease. Some infections are persistent and can lead to genital warts, precancerous lesions, or cancer. Infections caused by certain HPV types cause almost all cases of anogenital warts in women and men and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis.

It can take years, even decades, for HPV infections to lead to cancer. According to CDC surveillance data from 2016 through 2020, every year in the United States, about 46,711 new cases of cancer (25,689 among women and 21,022 among men) are found in parts of the body where human papillomavirus (HPV) is often found (referred to as HPV-associated cancers). About 79% of these cancers are probably caused by HPV (referred to as HPV-attributable cancers).

Each year, between 2016 and 2020, nearly 12,000 cases of cervical cancer, the most widely known HPV-associated cancer, occurred in the United States. HPV is also associated with vulvar, and vaginal cancer in females, penile cancer in males, and anal and oropharyngeal cancer in both females and males. Between 2016 and 2020, oropharyngeal cancers were the most common HPV-associated cancers, with an average of 20,805 reported cases each year (17,248 among men and 3,557 among women).

See www.cdc.gov/cancer/hpv/cases.html for more information on trends in HPV-associated cancer.

There is no treatment for infection with the HPV virus itself. Only HPV-associated lesions including genital warts, recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, precancers, and cancers are treated. Recommended treatments vary depending on the diagnosis, size, and location of the lesion. Local treatment of lesions might not eradicate all HPV-containing cells fully. It is unclear whether treating the lesion reduces the risk that the infected person could transmit the HPV infection to others.