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Forum > Specific Cancer: Specific Cancer

Papiloma in pregnancy

CCoPE
Date: 2003-01-06

Question:
I am 27,and i have the virus of papiloma humano.and i am 1 month and a half pregnant.the virus is level in cin 2;should i abort because the virus can easily grow and transform into cancer?can my baby get any disease or malformacion? thank you.

Answer:
Be sure that you are seen by somebody with experience with colposcopy, preferably a gynecological oncologist. If you were seen by a general Ob/gyn it is perfectly OK if they are experienced, but you may want a second opinion to be reassured.

HERE ARE SOME POINTS TO DISCUSS WITH YOUR PHYSICIAN:

1. The baby is unlikely to have any malformations.

2. Theoretically the baby can get the virus while going through the birth canal at birth (not before delivery). The chances for this are remote.

3. CIN II is a condition that may turn into cervical cancer. You should have a PAP smear and colposcopy. The colposcopy (looking at the cervix with a special microscope) could or should be repeated during pregnancy (depending on the initial findings). Areas that look suspicious could be biopsied (cutting a small area of tissue and examining it to look for cancer). Colposcopy, appropriately performed, is safe in pregnancy. The biopsies may result in more bleeding than usual in pregnancy but are usually safe.

4. Even if the biopsies suggest a micro-invasion (and this is usually not likely) the next step is not an abortion but a cone biopsy (a surgery when the outside part of the cervix is removed). A complication may be bleeding and losing the pregnancy but this is not likely.

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