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Ways to prevent HPV

HPV vaccine:
HPV vaccination can significantly reduce the risk of HPV and related cancers. The UK began an HPV vaccination program for young girls in 2008 and found that it can significantly reduce the chance of cervical cancer and CIN3 (the most advanced precursor lesion). In countries that have implemented vaccination programs, after 5 to 8 years of HPV vaccination, the HPV infection rate of girls aged 13-19 has dropped by 83%, and the HPV infection rate of women aged 20-24 has dropped by 66%. In addition, a clinical trial in Costa Rica found that HPV vaccine can effectively protect the oral cavity and prevent HPV infection from causing oral cancer.
Regular cervical cancer screening: Precancerous lesions can be detected early, treated in time, and prevented from developing into cancer.

Use condoms:
It can reduce the chance of HPV infection by avoiding direct contact.
Avoid having multiple sexual partners: Most HPVs are transmitted through sexual contact, and fewer sexual partners can reduce the chance of HPV infection.

Avoid smoking:
The tar and nicotine in cigarettes have an immunosuppressive effect, which reduces the function of the human immune system and increases the chance of HPV infection. In addition, studies have shown that smoking can increase cell proliferation, thereby leading to HPV virus proliferation and replication, accelerating the disease. According to a survey, women who smoke are infected with HPV for a longer time and have a lower clearance rate than non-smoking women. Therefore, the chance of precancerous lesions can be increased. Therefore, avoiding smoking can prevent HPV.

Falcaro, M., Castañon, A., Ndlela, B., Checchi, M., Soldan, K., Lopez-Bernal, J., Elliss-Brookes, L., & Sasieni, P. (2021). The effects of the national HPV vaccination program in England, UK, on cervical cancer and grade 3 intracervical epithelial neoplasia incidence: a register-based observational study. Lancet (London, England), 398(10316), 2084–2092. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02178-4+
Drolet, M., Bénard, É., Pérez, N., Brisson, M., Ali, H., Boily, M.-C., Baldo, V., Brassard, P., Brotherton, J. M. L., Callander, D., Checchi, M., Chow, E. P. F., Cocchio, S., Dalianis, T., Deeks, S. L., Dehlendorff, C., Donovan, B., Fairley, C. K., Flagg, E. W., & Gargano, J. W. (2019). Population-level impact and herd effects following the introduction of human papillomavirus vaccination programs: updated systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet, 394(10197). https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(19)30298-3
Herrero, R., Quint, W., Hildesheim, A., Gonzalez, P., Struijk, L., Katki, H. A., Porras, C., Schiffman, M., Rodriguez, A. C., Solomon, D., Jimenez, S., Schiller, J. T., Lowy, D. R., van Doorn, L.-J., Wacholder, S., & Kreimer, A. R. (2013). Reduced Prevalence of Oral Human Papillomavirus (HPV) 4 Years after Bivalent HPV Vaccination in a Randomized Clinical Trial in Costa Rica. PLoS ONE, 8(7), e68329. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0068329
World Health Organization. (2024, March 5). Cervical Cancer. World Health Organization; World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cervical-cancer
Mehta, H., Nazzal, K., & Sadikot, R. T. (2008). Cigarette smoking and innate immunity. Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.], 57(11), 497–503. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00011-008-8078-6
Giuliano, A. R., Sedjo, R. L., Roe, D. J., Harri, R., Baldwi, S., Papenfuss, M. R., Abrahamsen, M., & Inserra, P. (2002). Clearance of oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) infection: effect of smoking (United States). Cancer causes & control : CCC, 13(9), 839–846. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1020668232219

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