This week after reading, “Viruses and Human Cancer: From Detection to Causality” by Sarid and Gao, I looked at multiple HPV strains and the risks and treatments for each. After focusing on HPV types I just wanted to focus on the ones that were said to be high in risk when thinking about strains that should be covered in a new treatment while also keeping in mind cost/benefit analysis and remembering that we cannot recommend so many. The HPV strains that are high risk and account for approximately eighty percent of cervical cancers are types 16, 18, 31, and 45. HPV 16 and 18 already have vaccines available as they are seen responsible for causing virtually all cases of cervical cancer in women. This means that in a new treatment the focus should be on HPV 31 and HPV 45 which are also very high risk but don’t yet have treatments. Women that are skeptical of having HPV should be tested for the strain they have and be administered the treatment immediately to help prevent the spread of cancer. Overall, the benefit of finding treatment for these HPV strands will outweigh the cost based on how many life will be positively impacted from the new treatments.
