Most studies of HPV persistence have defined persistence as the detection of the same HPV type at 2–3 consecutive visits, each 2–24 months apart [10–18].
For 90 percent of women with HPV, the condition will clear up on its own within two years. Only a small number of women who have one of the HPV strains that cause cervical cancer will ever actually develop the disease.
HPV 16, HPV 58, and HPV 31, all from species group alpha 9, were the most persistent types; however, other high-risk HPV types that are detected rarely in cancer cases were also likely to persist.
Most HPV infections don't cause cancer: Your immune system usually controls HPV infections so they don't cause cancer. High-risk HPV infections that persist can cause cancer: Sometimes HPV infections are not successfully controlled by your immune system.
Depending on the type of HPV that you have, the virus can linger in your body for years. In most cases, your body can produce antibodies against the virus and clear the virus within one to two years. Most strains of HPV go away permanently without treatment.
Around 90% of HPV infections clear within 2 years. For a small number of women and people with a cervix, their immune system will not be able to get rid of HPV. This is called a persistent infection. A persistent HPV infection causes the cells of the cervix to change.
Options include freezing (cryosurgery), laser, surgical removal, loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) and cold knife conization.
In addition to being associated with cervical and anogenital cancers, persistent HPV infection has also been linked to head and neck cancers [4,27,28]. Several studies have additionally observed that women with cervical cancer had a greater risk of subsequently developing oral cancer [29].
Most human papillomavirus (HPV) infections regress spontaneously, whereas 10–15% of them may progress to precancerous lesions and then cancer with persistent HPV infections.
In most cases (9 out of 10), HPV goes away on its own within two years without health problems. But when HPV does not go away, it can cause health problems like genital warts and cancer. Genital warts usually appear as a small bump or group of bumps in the genital area.
You're contagious for as long as you have the virus — regardless of whether or not you have symptoms. For example, even if your genital warts have disappeared, you can still spread the HPV that caused them if the virus is still in your body. Once your immune system destroys the virus, you're no longer contagious.
It's possible. In most cases, your immune system will eventually get rid of an HPV infection within 2 years. But HPV can stay in our bodies – sometimes without us knowing about it, as it is not detected with a test. This is called dormant or clinically insignificant HPV.
HPV-related cancers often take years to develop after getting an HPV infection. Cervical cancer usually develops over 10 or more years. There can be a long interval between being infected with HPV, the development of abnormal cells on the cervix and the development of cervical cancer.
Most of the time HPV goes away by itself. Certain people are at higher risk for HPV-related health problems. This includes gay and bisexual men and people with weak immune systems (including those who have HIV/AIDS). Most HPV infections that lead to cancer can be prevented with vaccines.
If you're over 30, your body can still clear HPV, but it's less likely at this point. Your doctor may want to perform more testing, like a Pap (if you didn't get one with your HPV test) to see if you also have abnormal cervical cell changes in addition to a positive HPV test.
When the body's immune system can't get rid of an HPV infection with oncogenic HPV types, it can linger over time and turn normal cells into abnormal cells and then cancer. About 10% of women with HPV infection on their cervix will develop long-lasting HPV infections that put them at risk for cervical cancer.
HPV is very common. It is estimated that up to 80% of people in Australia have HPV at some time in their lives. Many people who have HPV have no idea that they have been exposed to the infection.
There is no sure way to know when HPV was acquired i.e. from which partner it came from or how long ago. Sex partners who have been together tend to share HPV, even when both partners do not show signs of HPV. Having HPV does not mean that a person or their partner is having sex outside the current relationship.
The most common reason for cell changes to come back would be your immune system not getting rid of high-risk HPV. We don't yet know why some people can clear HPV and others can't.
HPV can go away on its own. In most cases—about 90%—your immune system will “clear” an HPV infection within two years (Best, 2013). This means that the virus is no longer present, will not cause symptoms, and you cannot spread it to other people.
Unfortunately, once you have been infected with HPV, there is no treatment that can cure it or eliminate the virus from your system. A hysterectomy removes the cervix, which means that the risk of developing cervical cancer because of persistent HPV infection will essentially be eliminated.
The majority of HPV infections are cleared by the immune system within 2 years, defined as an absence of HPV DNA detection on follow-up serial swabs after detection of the initial infection [2].
If you test positive for HPV 16/18, you will need to have a colposcopy. If you test positive for HPV (but did not have genotyping performed or had genotyping and tested negative for 16/18), you will likely have a colposcopy.