Prophylactic human papillomavirus vaccines
J. Clin. Invest. Douglas R. Lowy, et al. 116:1167 doi:10.1172/JCI28607 [Go to this article.]

Figure 3
Relationship among incidences of cervical HPV infection, precancer, and cancer. The HPV curve emphasizes the high incidence of infection that develops soon after women initiate sexual activity and subsequent lower incidence because a high proportion of infections are self-limited. The precancer incidence curve follows several years behind the HPV incidence curve and is substantially lower than that of HPV incidence, as there is generally a delay between the acquisition of HPV infection and precancer development, and only a subset of infected women develop precancers. The cancer incidence curve follows several years behind the precancer curve, reflecting the relatively long interval between precancer and progression to invasive cancer. As women approach 40 years of age, the incidence of cancer begins to approach the incidence of precancer. Figure modified with permission from the New England Journal of Medicine53).