Understanding LSIL and HPV: What You Need to Know

Question
i went to the obgyn today and the said i have hpv and lsil,im wondering how serious is lsil? will it ever go away? and can it stop me from having any more kids? what are the side effects?and is there a cure?im really  upset and shocked about this hole thing

Answer
Dear Amber,

Squamous intraepithelial lesion (SIL) is a term that is used to describe abnormal changes in the cells on the surface of the cervix. The word squamous describes thin, flat cells that form the outer surface of the cervix. The word lesion refers to abnormal tissue. An intraepithelial lesion means that the abnormal cells are present only in the layer of cells on the surface of the cervix. A doctor may describe SIL as being low-grade (early changes in the size, shape, and number of cells) or high-grade (precancerous cells that look very different from normal cells).

Therefore, LSIL means 'low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion'. This is not considered cancer and there is a very low rate of cancer with this diagnosis. High-risk HPV infection is very prevalent in women with LSIL. In fact, nearly all cases of cervical cancer are associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection.  Approximately 20 million Americans are currently infected with HPV, and another 6.2 million people become newly infected each year. At least 50% of sexually active men and women acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives.

There are many kinds of HPV and not all of them cause health problems. Some kinds of HPV may cause problems like genital warts or cervical cancer. HPV types 16 and 18 cause about 70% of cervical cancers. HPV types 6 and 11 cause about 90% of genital warts. Most people who have a genital HPV infection do not know they are infected. The virus lives in the skin or mucous membranes and usually causes no symptoms. Some people get visible genital warts, or have pre-cancerous changes in the cervix, vulva, anus, or penis. Very rarely, HPV infection results in anal or genital cancers.

HPV usually goes away on its own, without causing health problems. So an HPV infection that is found today will most likely not be there a year or two from now. For this reason, there is often no need to be tested only to find out if you have HPV now. However, you should get tested for signs of disease that HPV can cause, such as cervical cancer.

For you, or any woman in a low or moderate risk category, often colposcopy is not deemed necessary and the treatment of choice is simply more frequent follow-up Pap smears. This is because of increased HPV prevalence, the fact that HPV-related cervical intraepithelial abnormalities typically regress on their own, and the low rate of HSIL in younger women. However, every case should be evaluated independently and the appropriate treatment will be determined by your own physician.

I hope this has helped you and answered your question. I wish you well.

Brenda