HJNO May/Jun 2022

56 MAY / JUN 2022 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS ONCOLOGY DIAL GUE COLUMN ONCOLOGY Introduction: What is HPV? The reasons for which a certain cancer de- velops are often multifactorial. There may be things related to genetics, lifestyle, or en- vironment that play a part in the eventual formation of cancer. In the instance of certain cancers, there are well-established viral eti- ologies that play a direct role in pathogenesis — the changes on a molecular or cellular level HOW A VIRUS CAN CAUSE CANCER: Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and Cancer that cause cancer to form. HPV, the human papilloma virus, is a small DNA virus that is sexually transmitted. It is most often spread via penetrative inter- course or direct/close skin-to-skin contact with an infected body part. Less commonly, it is spread via digital-anal or digital-vag- inal interactions. Once the epithelial layer of a tissue is infected, the HPV can replicate, divide, and store itself there. The virus has been found to preferentially infect certain genital tissues (cervical, vaginal, vulvar, pe- nile), anal mucosa, and certain subsites of the head and neck, including the oral cavity (mouth) and oropharynx (regions including the tonsils, soft palate, upper throat, base of the tongue).