Cervical Cancer News Information Blog | HPV Vaccines, The Pap Smear Test, and the Latest Cervical Cancer Research

Montreal, Canada

A groundbreaking study of young Canadian couples in new sexual relationships has found that more than half -- 56% -- are infected with the human papilomavirus.

Of that group, 44% had the type of HPV that causes cancer of the cervix and penis.

"Our study is the first to investigate HPV transmission in a large number of new couples among young adults," Dr. François Coutlée, a researcher at the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal where the HPV tests were analyzed, said in a news release. "The results suggest that many HPV transmissions occur at the start of new relationships, which reinforces the need for prevention."

The study's coordinator said researchers weren't surprised by their findings.

"It is a high number, but that number was not entirely unexpected," Ann Burchell, a post-doctoral fellow at McGill University's cancer epidemiology unit, told the CanWest News Service. "We know that HPV is a very common infection already, particularly in young people. We know that people are at a high risk of getting HPV just after acquiring a new partner."

HPV infections are common: more than 70% of women and men will be infected at some point. But the vast majority of people experience no symptoms, and the infection lasts between one and two years. Of women infected with HPV, fewer than 1% will develop cervical cancer.

The findings were published in the January issues of Epidemiology and Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

In October, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that all girls ages 11 or 12 be given the HPV vaccine, Gardasil.

Two months earlier, the CDC reported that the vaccine was linked to 32 unconfirmed deaths and showed higher incidences of fainting and blood clots than other vaccines. That concerned some doctors and parents. Others were reassured by the report, noting that its side effects were neither more unusual nor more serious than other vaccines.

The CDC addresses health concerns about the vaccine.