[procaare] Chlamydia Infection May Boost Risk of Cervical Cancer.

[ProCAARE <procaare@usa.healthnet.org>]

Chlamydia Infection May Boost Risk of Cervical Cancer.
Reuters (04.10.02)
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Women who are infected with chlamydia may have a higher risk of developing cervical
cancer, according to a study published in the International Journal of Cancer, Reuters
Health reports.  Researchers from Karolinska Hospital in Sweden compared the results of
the Pap tests of 118 women diagnosed with cervical cancer to those of 118 women who never
developed cervical cancer (McCook, Reuters Health, 10/4).

The Pap tests were analyzed for the presence of chlamydia.  While 8% of women with
cervical cancer were also infected with chlamydia, none of the women in the control group
had chlamydia infection.  When adjusted for coinfection with human papillomavirus -- the
sexually transmitted disease that is associated with most cases of cervical cancer -- the
researchers found that the risk of cervical cancer among women with chlamydia was about 17
times higher than the risk among women without chlamydia.

The presence of chlamydia and HPV were not related, as chlamydia was found in !  Pap tests
taken long before the diagnosis of cervical cancer, whereas HPV was found in samples taken
closer to the time of cancer diagnosis (Wallin et al., International Journal of Cancer,
8/13).

Lead study author Dr. Keng-Ling Wallin said that chlamydia infection may boost a woman's
risk for cervical cancer by suppressing her immune system, making her more susceptible to
infection with HPV. She noted that it is also possible that women who are infected with
chlamydia have other external risk factors that could increase their risk for cancer,
including infection with other STDs.

Therefore, Wallin said, the chlamydia virus itself may not have an impact on a woman's
risk of developing cervical cancer, although she added that if future studies also find a
relationship between chlamydia infection and cervical cancer, health officials may want to
increase testing and treatment rates for chlamydia. Chlamydia is the most common bacterial
STD in the United States, with approximately three million cases diagnosed in the United
States each year

Source: Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report

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