Does cervical dysplasia mean I have HPV?

Does cervical dysplasia mean I have HPV?

Strongly associated with sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, cervical dysplasia is most common in women under age 30 but can develop at any age. Cervical dysplasia usually causes no symptoms, and is most often discovered by a routine Pap test.

How does HPV cause cervical dysplasia?

When you’re exposed to genital human papillomavirus (HPV), your immune system usually prevents the virus from doing serious harm. But sometimes, the virus survives for years. Eventually, the virus can lead to the conversion of normal cells on the surface of the cervix into cancerous cells.

How serious is cervical dysplasia?

It’s diagnosed with a biopsy. Abnormal changes in cells can be mild, moderate, or severe. The presence of cervical dysplasia doesn’t mean you have cervical cancer. But the cells could lead to cancer if they aren’t treated.

Does HPV dysplasia go away?

In most cases, mild dysplasia resolves on its own and doesn’t become cancerous. Your doctor may recommend follow-up in a year to check for additional changes. If you have severe dysplasia (CIN II or III), your doctor may recommend treatment, such as surgery or other procedures to remove the abnormal cells.

Can you get cervical dysplasia without having HPV?

Even though HPV infection appears to be necessary for the development of cervical dysplasia and cancer, not all women who have HPV infection develop dysplasia or cancer of the cervix. Additional, yet uncharacterized, factors must also be important in causing cervical dysplasia and cancer.

Can you have CIN without HPV?

HPV infection is necessary but not sufficient to develop CIN. More than 90% of infections are spontaneously cleared by the immune system within one year without treatment. Approximately 60% of CIN 1 lesions regress without treatment and less than 1% progress to cancer.

How do I get rid of abnormal cells in my cervix?

Abnormal cells in the cervix can also be treated with:

1. cryotherapy – the abnormal cells are frozen and destroyed (this is only used to treat minor cell changes)
2. laser treatment – a laser is used to pinpoint and destroy abnormal cells on your cervix.