You Go for Your Regular Pap Test and Are Informed

question 32

Multiple Choice

You go for your regular Pap test and are informed by your OBGYN that you are positive for HPV16. You are surprised because you have not noticed any signs or symptoms of infection. Your doctor explains that sexually transmitted HPV strains are among the most common of the STI agents, and that while some HPV strains cause warty growths of the external and internal genitalia, other strains cause non-warty lesions of mucosal surfaces such as the uterine cervix. These strains are of concern because they are a major factor in the development of cervical cancer. You ask your doctor a number of questions regarding HPV and HPV infection.
-Is the risk of developing cervical cancer the same for all strains of HPV?

• A) Yes. HPV is a double-stranded DNA virus, so any HPV strain will definitely integrate into the host cell chromosome, becoming oncogenic and leading to the development of cancer.
• B) No. Wart-causing HPV types exists in infected cells as extrachromosomal, closed DNA circles, while the genome of high-risk (cancer-associated) HPV types integrate into the chromosome of the host cell.
• C) No. Wart-causing HPV types are double-stranded RNA viruses which are easily eliminated by the immune system while cancer-causing HPV types are double-stranded DNA viruses that can integrate into the host cell chromosome.
• D) No. It depends on the infected person's immune system rather than the virus. Any HPV type can cause cancer but some people have a stronger immune system than others and are able to fight off the virus before it gets a chance to integrate into the host chromosome.
• E) No. Wart-causing HPV types are double-stranded DNA viruses which are easily eliminated by the immune system while cancer-causing HPV types are retroviruses that can integrate into the host cell chromosome.

---

Definitions:

Fertilization

The process of a sperm cell joining with an egg cell to create a new organism.

Mutation

A change in the DNA sequence within a gene or chromosome of an organism leading to variation.

Chromosomes

Structures located in the nucleus of cells, made up of DNA and proteins, that carry genetic information.

Genes

Segments of DNA located on chromosomes that encode for proteins and determine the inherited characteristics of organisms.