Women who smoke cigarettes and who are infected with high levels of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) increase their risk of cervical cancer as much as 

, according to a Swedish study, which is one of the largest to date on the subject.  

The researchers found that women who are positive for HPV-16 on their first smear and who smoke are 14 times more likely to develop cervical cancer 

 (CIS) than HPV-16–negative smokers, but only six times more likely to develop the disease than HPV-16–positive nonsmokers. HPV-16–positive smokers with a high viral load at the time of their first smear were at 27 times the risk of HPV-16–negative smokers, while nonsmoking women with a high HPV-16 load had only 6 times the risk of HPV-16–negative nonsmokers.  

Gunnell AS, Tran TN, Torrång A, et al. Synergy between cigarette smoking an human papillomavirus type 16 in cervical cancer in situ development. 

News

Pediatrics

Women who smoke cigarettes and who are infected with high levels of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) increase their risk of cervical cancer as much as 27-fold, according to a Swedish study, which is one of the largest to date on the subject.