Genital warts, papillomaviruses, and genital malignancies

Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections of the genital tract are widespread and often subclinical. Of about a dozen genital tract HPVs, types 16 and 18 are strongly associated with squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix and of other sites in the lower genital tract. In invasive cervical cancers, the viral genomes are often integrated into the cellular DNA and are transcriptionally active. These viruses, with additional cofactors, play a role in genital tract malignancies.