Can mild dysplasia increase the chances of anal cancer?
Patient: I'm female,41 years old. I have high risk HPV with mild dysplasia & I'm having follow pap smears to avoid cervical cancer. But I know that hpv can aslo cause anal cancer & we don't have anal pap smears in my country. Am I at risk of getting anal cancer? How can I prevent it? (I've been married & faithfull for 17 years & we never have anal sex & I don't smoke) Doctor: Hi,Thanks for writing in.You do not come under high risk group for HPV associated anal cancer. However you are doing the right action by getting regularly checked up for possible early cervical cancer. Pap smear done regularly is beneficial as you are having high risk HPV with mild dysplasia.Regarding the anal cancer, it is only a probability and this pattern is seen in those women who have had cervical cancer. Since cervical cancer features have not yet manifested in you therefore you might relax about anal cancer occurring due to human papilloma virus infection. Please do not worry.