Early diagnosis is important, and women are recommended to get annual Pap tests, where cells that line the cervix are gently scraped off and examined under a microscope.

The problem, however, is that Pap tests are not always accurate. The results can be skewed due to human error in spreading the samples on slides and in reading the results. Since each of the hundreds of thousands of cells needs to be examined, abnormal cells are often missed. It is estimated that 20 to 40 percent of lesions are missed.

A recent study has shown that testing for HPV directly is more effective in predicting cancer than a Pap smear alone, but tests are not yet widely available.

Prevention

What makes HPV particularly frightening is that there is no way to prevent it other than abstinence. Condoms to prevent transmission through bodily fluids, once thought to be enough, no longer are. The virus can live in outer skin cells and even in dead cells for a short time, then be transmitted to a partner.

Recent legislation from the House Commerce Committee has called for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to label packages with a warning that condoms may not prevent the transmission of HPV.

Additionally, though men do not face the same threats from HPV, they are capable of carrying and transmitting the disease without knowing.

At Harvard

In an informal poll of 50 Harvard students, none knew that HPV could be spread while condoms are used. Nor did any know that it is conclusively linked to cervical cancer.