HPV Tipleri, Neden Olduğu Hastalıklar, Türkiye'de Genital Siğil Ve ...

2. HPV Types, Cervical Cancer, Genital Wart Frequency

According to research carried out by World Health Organization, the frequency of sexually active individuals contacting HPV is around 50%. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rockville, Md: CDC National Prevention Information Network; 2004.) Subsequently, it is a very common virus.

According to data from the US government, every year 5,5 million people are infected with sexually transmitted HPV. The group with highest HPV infection rates are individuals under the age of 25. It is estimated that, the rate of people infected with HPVs in general public is between 11%-25%.

The only study about the types of HPV encountered in Turkey was a 2009 study, conducted by Usubüstün Hoca. (Int J Gynecol Pathol. 2009 Nov;28(6):541-8.). The types detected through this research are in line with other studies conducted around the world.

Research found that, the rate in cervical cancer is directly a resultant of HPV 16 and HPV 18 is 75.4%. These types are followed by HPV 45 and 31. This disposition is also in line with other countries.

On the other hand, there is a strong link between different types of cancer (especially cervical cancer) and HPV. It should be noted that, the link between HPV and cervical cancer, is stronger than the link between tobacco consumption and lung cancer.

Source: Prof. Dr. Süleyman Engin Akhan’s Lecture & Presentation Slides

3. Frequency of Cervical Cancer in Turkey

Unfortunately, there is no clear or objective statistics about cervical cancer’s frequency in Turkey. According to data from GLOBOCAN 2008, the frequency of cervical cancer development is 4.2 in 100.000. This rate was established by using very limited data. According to this information, in 2008 the number of newly diagnosed cervical cancer patients were 1443 and 556 people lost their lives due to this disease in Turkey.

Source: Prof. Dr. Süleyman Engin Akhan’s Lecture Slides, Globocan 2008 Data

But it is hard to say that this data is very accurate. While some doctors claim that the rates of cervical cancer are decreasing, 1999 data released by Health Ministry of Turkey shows that the frequency of cervical cancer was 0.9 in 100.000. According to Globocan data, this rate is 4.2 in 100.000 around the globe, which quadruples the rate in Turkey!

Frequency of Genital Warts (Condyloma) in Turkey

The risk of Genital Warts or condyloma to cause cervical cancer is very low. Between 90%-97% of warts are caused by HPV types 11 or 6. For this reason, generalizing exceptions (such as non-healing or growing genital warts) are meaningless unless they are part of an academic research.

A recently published study shows that the frequency of genital warts in Turkey is at alarming rates. ( Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2011;12(9):2397-400) The research is conducted with 4 million cases in 81 cities through Cancer Early Diagnosis, Monitoring & Education Centers.

According to this research, the frequency of genital warts in Turkey is 154 in 100.000. The recurrence rates of the disease are between 15%-37%. This data shows that the rate in which new patients are diagnosed are 15 to 37 in 100.000. These are very serious numbers!

Don’t think that Istanbul or Izmir are the cities genital warts are most commonly diagnosed. The frequency of genital warts are highes in Kırşehir, followed by Kütahya.