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# Healthy immunity protects against cervical cancer
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/cervical_cancer_and_immunity_0603131101/
- Published: 2013-06-04T00:02:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T16:23:51.000Z
- Description: A review in Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy argues weakened immunity, not HPV alone, drives the risk: women with AIDS, transplant patients on immunosuppressants, and those with end-stage renal or autoimmune disease face higher risk. Smoking is the biggest behavioral factor.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Disease, Health News, #vivvo-import

Monday June 3, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- A review published in Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy reveals some of the most important risk factors for cervical cancer. According to the report, human pappilomavirus may not be the major risk factor and the major risk is immunosupression or weakened immunity. With healthy immunity, HPV can be cleared relatively quickly withour resorting to any medical treatment.

P. A. Dugué from University of Copenhagen in Øster, Denmark amd colleagues report that at an increased risk for cervical cancer are women who have their immunity suppressed by diseases like AIDS and use of immunosuppressants or anti-immunity medications following organ transplantation.

At an increased risk of cervical cancer are also patients with end-stage renal disease and autoimmune diseases are associated with higher risk for cervical precancerous lesions, which are believed to be precursors to cervical cancer, particularly when the patients are treated with immunosuppressants.

Behavioral factors that can weaken the immune system can also affect the risk of cervical cancer, according to the review. Among these risk factors, smoking appears to be the biggest risk factor for cervical cancer whereas poor diet only moderately boosts the risk.

Human papillomavirus or HPV infection has been associated with increased risk for cervical cancer. However, a woman who has healthy immunity can likely clear the HPV virus naturally within one to two years without causing a substantial damage to the cervix. It is less known how other sexually transmitted infections would affect the risk of cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is relatively rare. Women are more likely to get killed by highway traffic accidents than the disease. To be exact, cervical cancer is diagnosed in about 11,000 women each year in the U.S. and the disease kills about 4,000 women annually in the country, according to the National Cancer Institute.

There are many things women can do to help protect against the development of cervical cancer. Supplementation of antioxidants such as vitamin C and E along with multivitamin, vitamin A and calcium may reduce the total risk of cervical cancer by up to 80 percent.

Dietary practice is still important. A plant-based diet can provide some protection, compared with a meat-based Western diet. Calorie restriction and a plant-based diet are protective against the cancer development, according to previous studies.

HPV vaccine, which is not accepted by vaccine opponents may help reduce the risk of cervical cancer induced by some strains of HPV and therefore not all the risk can be completely eliminated. It is only said to be possible because the outcomes of vaccine trials are the effect of the vaccine on some surrogates, precancerous lesion in this case, but not really cervical cancer incidence among the tested individuals. Also the vaccine has been tested only in girls at certain ages meaning it can only be speculated that the vaccine would work for other age groups of females. 

The safety of the vaccine remains unclear because some severe adverse effects and even deaths have been reported associated with use of this vaccine. Postmarketing reports have registered numerous cases of injury induced or associated with use of the HPV vaccine. (reporting by David Liu PHD)