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Home › Articles › Health › The HPV Vaccine

The HPV Vaccine

A Shot Against Cervical Cancer

By Kelly Burgess

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HPV and Infertility
While preventing cervical cancer is the primary focus of the push for the HPV vaccine, it also has important implications in preventing infertility in women. According to Dr. Kevin Lederer, of the Fertility Centers of Illinois, there are a number of ways in which the human papillomavirus can either inhibit fertility or make it difficult for a woman to carry a pregnancy to term.

The virus itself can weaken the cervix, which makes it more apt to dilate prematurely. When the virus causes precancerous changes, the treatments, such as cone biopsies, can cause narrowing of the canal and leave scar tissue that can make it difficult for sperm to pass through to the uterus. This can also destroy glands that are needed to produce mucous crucial to the process of conception. In addition, if a large portion of the cervix is involved in treatment, it can cause premature labor or rupture of the membranes. Worst case scenario, of course, is an early invasive cancer that can virtually destroy the cervix. Dr. Lederer also points out new studies indicating that women with HPV infections generally have poorer outcomes in IVF cycles.

As an advocate of the vaccine, though, what Dr. Lederer would really like lay people to understand is that HPV is not always transmitted sexually. More casual contact, which is fairly common in situations where young people congregate (think hot tubs, to use just one example), can also pass along the virus. "The thing that bothers me is that once someone is diagnosed with a cervical problem there's the assumption that this is sexually transmitted, and that's not always the case," he says. "People get warts all the time on other parts of their body; that's a known fact. I've seen this happen in the past, and it's brought up all sorts of issues and assumptions that were incorrect. It can be a heartbreaking situation."


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