The truth is that the doctors still don’t know the exact reason as to what causes cervical cancer but there are some known risk factors that are said to have some effect. The medical history and the lifestyle, especially the sexual habits increase or decrease the chances of a woman getting cervical cancer.

Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)

This is a virus that affects the genital tract, the area around the anus and the external genitals. HPV has nothing to do with HIV and there are 46 different types and not all of them are dangerous.

Only those kinds of HPV are dangerous that can be passed from one person to the other during sexual intercourse because they increase the risk of cell dysplasia and these could cause cervical cancer.

These are certain kinds of HPV that cause genital warts but these are different from those that cause cervical cancer. Nonetheless those women who have a history of genital warts have higher chances of having abnormal Pap smear.

Sexual history

Yes, it might be your sexual history as to what causes cervical cancer. You could have a higher risk of having cervical cancer in case you had several sexual partners, had sexual relations before the age of 18 or you had a partner who had sexual relations with a woman with cervical cancer.

Other risk factors

One of the main risk factors that could indirectly cause cervical cancer is poverty because in this case women don’t have access to medical services and treatment. In the situation when women have cervical cancer and the condition remains undetected and untreated it could spread to the other parts of the body as well. Also in such cases the poor nutrition could be what causes cervical cancer.

Pap test is also important, because its lack increases the chances of having undiagnosed cervical cancer. About 60-80% of the women who have been lately diagnosed having the condition didn’t have a Pap test for at least 5 years.

Smokers have a disadvantage in this case as well. One of the causes of cervical cancer may be tobacco, because the women who are smoking have twice as much chance of having the condition. The more and the longer period of time a woman has been smoking, the higher the chances are for her to get cancer.

When asking what causes cervical cancer we should also be thinking about nutrition. In case your diet doesn’t have enough fruits and vegetables you could have higher risks of being affected by cervical cancer.

The weakened immune system may also be a cause of cervical cancer. In case your immune system is weakened you are at a higher risk of developing cervical lesions that become cancerous. This also includes the women who are HIV positive. Also we have to be thinking about those women who have received an organ transplant because they have to be taking drugs that suppress the immune system to make sure that the body won’t reject the new organ.

Indeed causes are many but a constant in all of them can be observed. Woman that avoid screening have better chances of having to face the cancer.