Study: 1 in 4 U.S. women has virus that can cause cervical cancer

CHICAGO -- One in four U.S. women ages 14 to 59 is infected with the sexually transmitted virus that in some forms can cause cervical cancer, according to the first broad national estimate.

The figure is mostly in line with previous assessments. The highest prevalence -- nearly 45 percent -- was found in young women within the age range recommended for a new virus-fighting vaccine, according to a report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Researchers have estimated that 20 million Americans have some form of HPV. The study concluded that 26.8 percent of U.S. women are infected, a figure that is comparable to earlier estimates using smaller groups.

Just 3.4 percent of the women studied had infections with one of the four HPV strains that the new vaccine protects against. But that doesn't mean the vaccine should be written off, said Dr. Yvonne Collins, an assistant professor of gynecologic cancer at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

For one thing, Collins said, that relatively small percentage corresponds with a lot of women -- about 3 million, according to the report. And it does not include those with past infections that have cleared up.

The report appears in today's Journal of the American Medical Association.