Is it necessary to get the cervical vaccine?

In real life, there are three types of cancer that women are prone to. The first is cervical cancer, the second is ovarian cancer, and the third is breast cancer. From the names of these three cancers, we know that these cancers are all related to special organs in the female body. This means that in life, women must protect the health of these parts. So, is it necessary to get the cervical vaccine?

From a medical point of view, the name "cervical cancer vaccine" is not accurate. It should actually be called human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. But 99% of cervical cancers are related to HPV infection. Therefore, if the transmission of HPV can be effectively controlled, the incidence of cervical cancer can be effectively reduced. Therefore, HPV vaccine is also called cervical cancer vaccine.

HPV is a general term for a group of DNA viruses that are epithelial (infect the skin or mucous membranes). There are more than 100 types of HPV, of which about 40 are genital epithelial HPV. People infected with HPV usually have no symptoms, so it can be easily spread through reproductive contact.

When we are infected with HPV, in 90% of cases, our immune system will silently clear them out within 2 years without us noticing. However, it must be pointed out that our immune system, like the Maginot Line, is not impregnable, so some HPVs can still "illegally immigrate" into our bodies.

The special thing about HPV is that different types cause different diseases. For example, although there are many types of influenza viruses, they only cause influenza and not other diseases. In addition to causing cervical cancer, HPV can also cause a variety of different diseases such as genital warts and anal cancer.

Depending on the degree of cancer risk it causes, HPV can be divided into high-risk HPV (causing cervical cancer, anal cancer, vulvar cancer, vaginal cancer, etc.) and low-risk HPV (benign lesions such as genital warts).

In addition, cervical cancer vaccines are not a panacea. Although cervical cancer caused by high-risk HPV-16 and HPV-18 accounts for 70% of HPV infection-related cervical cancer, the 30% of cervical cancer caused by other high-risk HPV types is not within the prevention scope of these two vaccines. In addition, low-risk HPV types other than HPV-6 and HPV-11 cause genital warts and are not prevented by the vaccine (however, the proportion is relatively small, only 10%).