Risk Factors

A risk factor is anything that increases a person's chance of developing cancer. Some risk factors can be controlled, such as smoking, and some cannot be controlled, such as age and family history. Although risk factors can influence the development of cancer, most do not directly cause cancer. Some people with several risk factors never develop cancer, while others with no known risk factors do. However, knowing your risk factors and communicating them to your doctor may help you make more informed lifestyle and health-care choices.

The following factors may raise a woman's risk of developing cervical cancer:

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. The most important risk factor for cervical cancer is infection with HPV. This virus is passed from one person to another during sexual intercourse. Factors that raise the risk of being infected with HPV include becoming sexually active at an early age, having many sexual partners (or having sex with a man who has had many partners), and/or having sex with a man who has penile warts.

Immune system deficiency. Women with lowered immune systems have a higher risk of developing cervical cancer. A lowered immune system can be caused by immune suppression from corticosteroid medications, kidney transplantations, or treatments for other types of cancer or from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). When a woman is infected with HIV, her immune system is less able to fight off early cancer.

Herpes. Women who have genital herpes have a higher risk of developing cervical cancer.

Smoking. Women who smoke are about twice as likely to develop cervical cancer as women who do not smoke.

Age. Girls younger than 15 rarely develop cervical cancer. The risk goes up between the late teens and mid-30s. Women over 40 remain at risk and need to continue having regular Pap test screenings.

Race. Cervical cancer is more common among black women, Hispanic women, and American Indian women.

Oral contraceptives. Some research studies suggest that oral contraceptives, or birth control pills, may be associated with an increase in the risk of cervical cancer, but more research is needed to understand how oral contraceptive use and the development of cervical cancer are connected.

Exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES). Women whose mothers were given this drug during pregnancy to prevent miscarriage are at increased risk for cervical cancer. DES was given for this purpose from about 1940 to 1970. Women exposed to DES should have an annual pelvic examination that includes a cervical Pap test as well as a four-quadrant Pap test, in which samples of cells are taken from all sides of the vagina to check for abnormal cells.