Summary: HPV increases the risk of getting skin cancer.

Researchers have found that people with several strains of HPV (human papillomaviruses) are more than 1.5 times as likely to develop certain skin cancers compared to those who do not have any strains of HPV. The more strains of HPV that a person has, the higher their risk is for getting skin cancer.

• According to a study recently featured in the British Medical Journal, researchers have found that people with several strains of HPV (human papillomaviruses) are more than 1.5 times as likely to develop certain skin cancers compared to those who do not have any strains of HPV. The most common skin cancers seem to be increasing on a global level and according to these researchers, ultraviolet radiation (too much exposure to the sun) seems to be the main established risk factor. There are more than 100 different strains of HPVs, and many of these strains are known to cause various forms of cancer. According to the British Medical Journal, having only two or three strains of HPV can boost your risk of skin cancer by 44%. Having between four and eight strains will increase the percentage to 51%, and more than that could increase the risk of skin cancer to 71%. Furthermore, people who have taken immunosuppressant drugs for a long period of time have triple the risk. Dermatologist experts say that the most important thing is to “keep healthy, keep your skin healthy and minimize anything that compromises your immune system, so minimize excess sun exposure or [certain] drugs if you can, and take care of your skin…eat a healthy diet, get adequate sleep, and manage stress.” Doctors have also advised avoiding open wounds or any other openings on the skin as this is the way that HPV and other pathogens enter the body.¹

¹ Genus B human papillomaviruses and incidence of basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas of skin: population based case-control study, The British Medical Journal, 2010.