Cervical cancer risk is associated with low education even in an unscreened population, but it is not clear whether human papillomavirus (HPV) infection follows the same pattern.
Methods:Two large multicentric studies (case–control studies of cervical cancer and HPV prevalence survey) including nearly 20|[thinsp]|000 women. GP5|[plus]||[sol]|GP6|[plus]| PCR was used to detect HPV. Results:Education level was consistently associated with cervical cancer risk (odds ratio (OR) for 0 and >5 years vs 1–5 years|[equals]|1.50, 95|[percnt]| confidence interval (CI): 1.25–1.80 and 0.69, 95|[percnt]| CI: 0.57–0.82, respectively, P for trend
The excess of cervical cancer found in women with a low socio-economic status seems, therefore, not to be explained by a concomitant excess of HPV prevalence, but rather by early events in a woman's sexually active life that may modify the cancer-causing potential of HPV infection.
British Journal of Cancer (2009) 101, 865–870; doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6605224
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