New research indicates why black woman are more apt to develop and eventually die from cervical cancer than their white peers. The problem seems to stem from their problem of eliminating HPV, the virus that helps to cause the cancer. For a long time, doctors have thought a lower access to screenings and health care follow up were the main reasons that black woman are over 40% more apt to develop the cancer and twice as likely to lose their life from the disease.
The recent study involved college women and suggests a biological explanation could be the reason for the racial disparity. If the study can be confirmed through further studies, the HPV vaccine will become much more important for black females. The HPV vaccine has been recommended by medical caregivers for girls, from the time they reach 11.
Cervical cancer is caused by certain strains of the human papilomavirus. Brief infections are quite common among young women. Nevertheless, they normally go away with one year on their own. Only when they are long term, will they pose a risk of cancer.
At any of the different checkups, black women were 1.5 times more apt to receive a positive result on a test for HPV that white women. The doctors involved in the study believe the black women had a harder time clearing the virus. It tended to remain in their systems six months longer than in white females.
