14 DAY TRIAL // Women who smoke more than 10 cigarettes per day and carry the human papillomavirus 16 (the most common form of HPV) are almost 14 times more likely to develop cervical cancer symptoms than their peers who are also heavy smokers but are not infected with the particular virus. According to the findings of a recent study carried out by a team of researchers at the Karolinska Institute, women who smoke and are HPV-16 positive also have a double-fold risk to develop cervical cancer as compared to women who are infected with the human papillomavirus but have not take up the bad habit.
Cervical cancer is highly common among US women. 10000 of them are found to suffer from cancer every year and about 10 women die daily from this form of cancer, according to a report performed by Merck, one of the most important American medicine companies.
The findings of the current study have been published in the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention and Anthony Gunnell - a doctoral candidate at the Karolinska Institute who led the research - stated that the overall results of the investigation are striking and should raise concerns both among medical experts and heavy smoking women with the viral infection. Gunnell said: "We were surprised to see this dramatically increased risk among women with high viral loads who smoked."
Trying to explain the close link between heavy smoking and human papillomavirus infection, the team of scientists said that one possibility is that harmful chemicals in cigarettes prolong the infection and make it more persistent in the body by hindering the ability of the local immune system to fight and annihilate the particular virus. Another possibility is that both HPV and smoking affect levels of certain cytokines which control the proliferation of abnormal, cancer cells.
"One explanation for this interaction could involve the influence of smoking on persistence of HPV infection, probably due to localized immune suppression. Conversely, it could be related to the progression of neoplastic growth, since HPV and smoking appear to alter the levels of certain cytokines, which are involved in controlling abnormal cell growth," explained Gunnell.
Photocredit: www.mayoclinic.org