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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffThe human papillomavirus (HPV) test is a DNA test that detects the presence of human papillomavirus in cells taken from your cervix. Infection with some types of HPV can lead to the development of genital warts, abnormal cervical cells or cervical cancer.
Your doctor might recommend the HPV test if:
- Your Pap test was abnormal, showing atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS)
- You're age 30 or older
The HPV test is available only to women; no HPV test yet exists to detect the virus in men. However, men can be infected with HPV and pass the virus along to their sex partners. In men, HPV infection has also been linked to anal and penile cancer.
- Making sense of your Pap and HPV test results. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/pap/default.htm. Accessed Dec. 28, 2009.
- Thinking about testing for HPV? Information for women considering testing for the human papilloma virus (HPV). American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_6x_Thinking_About_Testing_for_HPV.asp?sitearea=&level=. Accessed Dec. 28, 2009.
- Human papillomavirus: HPV information for clinicians. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/std/hpv/common-clinicians/ClinicianBro-fp.pdf. Accessed Dec. 28, 2009.
- Sirovich BE, et al. Screening for cervical cancer. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 22, 2009.
- Stout NK, et al. Trade-offs in cervical cancer prevention. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2008;168:1881.
- Widdice LE, et al. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs): Human papillomavirus (HPV). In: Adams Hillard PJ. The 5-Minute Obstetrics and Gynecology Consult. Philadelphia, Pa.: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2008:174.
- Holschneider CH. Human papillomavirus and the management of the abnormal Pap test. In: Gibbs RS, et al. Danforth's Obstetrics and Gynecology. 10th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2008:989.
- Wright TC Jr, et al. Adding a test for human papillomavirus DNA to cervical-cancer screening. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2003;348:489.
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