HPV

A 67-year-old woman presented with a painful genital ulcer. She denied new sex partners and previous genital lesions.

A 40-year-old womanwith HIV infection has had an occasionallypruritic facial rash for severalmonths. The rash is not associatedwith any systemic symptoms.

A 38-year-old man presented with a fleshy lesion beneath the tip of his penis. He had discovered it about 18 months before the initial evaluation. A second similar lesion resembling a “cauliflower” had appeared several weeks after the first. Both lesions had grown and had begun to bleed during intercourse.

As a result of regular screening with the Papanicolaou (Pap) test, deaths from cervical cancer among American women have decreased by more than 70% during the last 50 years.

Smoking-related diseases have reached epidemic levelsamong women in the United States. Since 1980, neoplastic,cardiovascular, respiratory, and pediatric diseases attributableto smoking-as well as cigarette burns-havebeen responsible for the premature deaths of 3 millionAmerican women and girls. Lung cancer is now the leadingcause of cancer-related deaths among US women; itsurpassed breast cancer in 1987.1

Even though highly active antiretroviral therapies and effective chemoprophylaxis are available, the exposure of HIV-infected patients to opportunistic pathogens remains a concern.

Recently the CDC updated its guidelines for treating sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). This article focuses on genital herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection.

Seen here are asymptomatic papillary growths on the gingiva of a 31-year-old homosexual man who is seropositive for HIV. The diagnosis of human papillomavirus (HPV) lesions can be based on appearance and history. Condylomas may also appear flat and smooth or nodular, resembling fibromas. Because cross infection is common, patients who have these lesions-and their partners-are at increased risk for contracting anal and genital condylomas.