Cervical Cancer Risk Factors and Prevention

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Risk factors are conditions that raise your chances of getting a disease. The biggest risk factor for cervical cancer is exposure to human papillomavirus (HPV), a common infection.

Take Charge of Your Health

Talk to your primary care provider if you have symptoms that you think may be cervical cancer or to be screened. UW Medicine Primary Care can help you get started. Learn about Fred Hutch's relationship with UW Medicine.

HPV and Cervical Cancer Risk

There are more than 200 types of HPV. Some types cause warts. Some increase the risk for cancer of the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, anus and throat. These types are called high-risk HPV.

Physicians think HPV causes 95% of cervical cancer cases. The good news is there’s a vaccine to protect against HPV infection. Vaccination prevents 90% of cancers caused by HPV.

Read about HPV and Cervical Cancer

Other Cervical Cancer Risk Factors

These factors may also increase your risk for cervical cancer:

  • Sexual history, possibly because it affects your HPV risk. Your risk may be higher if you:
    • Become sexually active before age 18
    • Have many sexual partners
    • Have a partner who has HPV or has many sexual partners
  • Smoking. It doubles your cervical cancer risk. Substances that enter your body through smoking may damage cells in your cervix (and other parts of your body) and play a role in cancer.
  • Having HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) or another condition that makes your immune system weaker. This can impair your body’s ability to fight off HPV and possibly cancer cells.
  • Taking medicine that suppresses your immune system.
  • Having chlamydia, a bacterial infection. Risk for cervical cancer is higher in women with past or current chlamydia. This might be because it helps HPV grow.
  • Using birth control pills for a long time. The risk goes up the longer you use them and declines after you stop. (Using an intrauterine device, IUD, may lower cervical cancer risk.)
  • Giving birth to three or more babies. This might relate to HPV exposure or hormonal or immune system changes.
  • Being younger than 20 when giving birth for the first time. Risk for cervical cancer later in life is higher if you gave birth before age 20 compared to after age 25.
  • Having a mother who got the drug diethylstilbestrol (DES) while you were in the womb. DES was used until 1971 to prevent miscarriage and early labor. Exposure to DES in utero increases your risk for cervical and vaginal cancer.
  • Having one or more relatives who had cervical cancer.

Access to Health Care

Some people might be less likely to get effective cervical cancer prevention strategies, like screenings. If you don’t have providers who can detect and treat abnormal cells that could become cancer (precancers), you’re at higher risk for cervical cancer. This may include people who are obese or are low-income.

Cervical Cancer Prevention Strategies

You can take steps to reduce your risk for cervical cancer.

  • Make choices that lower your chances of getting infected with HPV, like getting the vaccine, having fewer sexual partners and using condoms. Learn more.
  • Don’t smoke. If you smoke, it’s important to quit. Help is available. Talk with your primary cancer provider. They can help you make a plan to quit and find supportive resources that are right for you. There are medicines that can help as well, like nicotine replacement products and drugs to ease cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Fred Hutch Cancer Center has a free smartphone app called QuitBot that includes step-by-step guidance and virtual coaching.
  • See your primary care provider or gynecologist for regular checkups that include a pelvic exam, HPV test and Pap test, even if you have no signs or symptoms. This is a chance to detect any problem early. Ask your provider how often you should have a checkup. Contact them between checkups if you have any symptoms or concerns.
  • If you use any form of birth control, talk with your care team about all the benefits and risks so you can choose the option that’s best for you.
  • Make sure your care team knows about any risk factors you have, like if you were exposed to DES or have a family history of cervical cancer. This can help them plan your care, like how often you need cervical cancer screenings.
  • Follow up with your care team about any abnormal HPV, Pap or other test results. Get treatment for precancers. Learn about precancerous conditions and how they’re treated.

How Fred Hutch Is Researching Cervical Cancer Prevention 

Fred Hutch researcher Denise Galloway, PhD, made critical discoveries in linking HPV to several cancers and in designing clinical trials for the HPV vaccine. She continues to research the results of using the vaccine and is working to find out if a single dose (rather than two or three doses) can provide long-term immunity.

Cervical Cancer Risk Factors FAQ

Other than quitting smoking and reducing your risk for HPV, physicians and researchers don’t have recommendations for cervical cancer specifically. But the American Institute for Cancer Research recommends these lifestyle choices (along with smoking cessation) to help prevent cancer overall:

  • Maintain a healthy weight.
  • Be physically active every day.
  • Focus your food choices on whole grains, vegetables, fruit and beans. Try to get the nutrients you need through these foods, not supplements.
  • Eat less “fast food” or other processed foods (especially if they are high in fat, starch or sugar) and less red or processed meat. Drink less alcohol and fewer drinks sweetened with sugar.
  • Protect your skin from the sun.

“Many of the steps you can take to reduce your risk of cancer have the added benefit of helping to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and possibly even dementia,” said Garnet Anderson, PhD, senior vice president and director of Fred Hutch’s Public Health Sciences Division and holder of the Fred Hutch 40th Anniversary Endowed Chair. “There are plenty of reasons to make these changes.”