Wart | |
---|---|
Other names | Verrucae, [1] papillomas [2] |
A large number of warts on the big toe | |
Specialty | Dermatology |
Symptoms | skin growth usually occurring on the hands, feet, or genitals [1] [3] |
Duration | Months to years [1] |
Causes | Human papillomavirus [1] |
Risk factors | Public showers and pools, eczema [3] |
Differential diagnosis | Callus, seborrheic keratosis, squamous cell carcinoma [4] |
Prevention | Avoiding skin contact with infected individual, not walking barefoot in public areas, having safe sex or sexual abstinence |
Treatment | Salicylic acid, cryotherapy, [1] surgical removal |
Frequency | Very common [2] |
Warts are non-cancerous viral growths usually occurring on the hands and feet but which can also affect other locations, such as the genitals or face. [1] [3] One or many warts may appear. [3] They are distinguished from cancerous tumors as they are caused by a viral infection, such as a human papillomavirus, rather than a cancer growth. [3]
Factors that increase the risk include the use of public showers and pools, working with meat, eczema, and a weak immune system. [1] [3] The virus is believed to infect the host through the entrance of a skin wound. [1] A number of types exist, including plantar warts, "filiform warts", and genital warts. [3] Genital warts are often sexually transmitted. [5]
Without treatment, most types of warts resolve in months to years. [1] A number of treatments may speed resolution, including salicylic acid applied to the skin and cryotherapy. [1] In those who are otherwise healthy, they do not typically result in significant problems. [1] Treatment of genital warts differs from that of other types. [3] Infection of a virus, such as HIV, can cause warts. This is prevented through careful handling of needles or sharp objects that could infect the individual through physical trauma of the skin, plus the practice of safe sex or sexual abstinence. Viruses that are not sexually transmitted, or are not transmitted in the case of a wart, can be prevented through a number of behaviors, such as wearing shoes outdoors and avoiding unsanitized areas without proper shoes or clothing, such as public restrooms or locker rooms.
Warts are very common, with most people being infected at some point in their lives. [2] The estimated current rate of non-genital warts among the general population is 1–13%. [1] They are more common among young people. [1] Prior to widespread adoption of the HPV vaccine, the estimated rate of genital warts in sexually active women was 12%. [5] Warts have been described as far back as 400 BC by Hippocrates. [4]
A range of types of wart have been identified, varying in shape and site affected, as well as the type of human papillomavirus involved. [6] [7] These include:
Warts are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). There are about 130 known types of human papillomaviruses. [9] HPV infects the squamous epithelium, usually of the skin or genitals, but each HPV type is typically only able to infect a few specific areas of the body. Many HPV types can produce a benign growth, often called a "wart" or "papilloma", in the area they infect. [10] Many of the more common HPV and wart types are listed below.
Common warts have a characteristic appearance under the microscope. They have thickening of the stratum corneum (hyperkeratosis), thickening of the stratum spinosum (acanthosis), thickening of the stratum granulosum, rete ridge elongation, and large blood vessels at the dermoepidermal junction.[ citation needed ]
On dermatoscopic examination, warts will commonly have fingerlike or knoblike extensions. [16]
Gardasil 6 is an HPV vaccine aimed at preventing cervical cancers and genital warts. Gardasil is designed to prevent infection with HPV types 16, 18, 6, and 11. HPV types 16 and 18 currently cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases, [13] [14] and also cause some vulvar, vaginal, [11] penile and anal cancers. [12] HPV types 6 and 11 are responsible for 90% of documented cases of genital warts. [17]
Gardasil 9 protects against HPV types 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58. [18]
HPV vaccines do not currently protect against the virus strains responsible for plantar warts (verrucae). [19]
The virus is relatively hardy and immune to many common disinfectants. Exposure to 90% ethanol for at least 1 minute, 2% glutaraldehyde, 30% Savlon, and/or 1% sodium hypochlorite can disinfect the pathogen. [20]
The virus is resistant to drying and heat, but killed by 100 °C (212 °F) temperature and ultraviolet radiation. [20]
There are many treatments and procedures associated with wart removal. [21] A review of various skin wart treatments concluded that topical treatments containing salicylic acid were more effective than placebo. [22] Cryotherapy appears to be as effective as salicylic acid, but there have been fewer trials. [22]
Daily application of the latex of Chelidonium majus is a traditional treatment. [48]
The acrid yellow sap of Greater Celandine is used as a traditional wart remedy. [49]
According to English folk belief, touching toads causes warts; according to a German belief, touching a toad under a full moon cures warts. [50] The most common Northern Hemisphere toads have glands that protrude from their skin that superficially resemble warts. Warts are caused by a virus, and toads do not harbor it. [51] A variety of traditional folk remedies and rituals claim to be able to remove warts.
In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer , Mark Twain has his characters discuss a variety of such remedies. Tom Sawyer proposes "spunk-water" (or "stump-water", the water collecting in the hollow of a tree stump) as a remedy for warts on the hand. You put your hand into the water at midnight and say:
Barley-corn, barley-corn, injun-meal shorts,
Spunk-water, spunk-water, swaller these warts
You then "walk away quick, eleven steps, with your eyes shut, and then turn around three times and walk home without speaking to anybody. Because if you speak the charm's busted." This is given as an example of Huckleberry Finn's planned remedy, which involves throwing a dead cat into a graveyard as a devil or devils comes to collect a recently buried wicked person. Another remedy involved splitting a bean, drawing blood from the wart and putting it on one of the halves, and burying that half at a crossroads at midnight. The theory of operation is that the blood on the buried bean will draw away the wart. [52] Twain is recognized as an early collector and recorder of genuine American folklore. [53]
Similar practices are recorded elsewhere. In Louisiana, one remedy for warts involves rubbing the wart with a potato, which is then buried; when the "buried potato dries up, the wart will be cured". [54] Another remedy similar to Twain's is reported from Northern Ireland, where water from a specific well on Rathlin Island is credited with the power to cure warts. [55]
Surviving ancient medical texts show that warts were a documented disease since at least the time of Hippocrates, who lived c. 460 – c. 370 BC. In the book De Medecia by the Roman physician Aulus Cornelius Celsus, who lived c. 25 BC – c. 50 AD, different types of warts were described. Celsus described Myrmecia, today recognized as plantar wart, and categorized acrochordon (a skin tag) as a wart. In the 13th century, warts were described in books published by the surgeons William of Saliceto and Lanfranc of Milan. The word verruca to describe a wart was introduced by the physician Daniel Sennert, who described warts in his 1636 book Hypomnemata physicae. [56]
The cause of warts was initially disputed in the medical profession. In the early 18th century the physician Daniel Turner, who published the first book on dermatology, suggested that warts were caused by damaged nerves close to the skin. In the mid-18th century, the surgeon John Hunter popularized the belief that warts were caused by a bacterial syphilis infection. The surgeon Benjamin Bell documented that warts were caused by a disease entirely unrelated to syphilis, and established a causal link between warts and cancer. In the 19th century, the chief physician of Verona Hospital established a link between warts and cervical cancer. But in 1874 it was noted by the dermatologist Ferdinand Ritter von Hebra that while various theories were advanced by the medical profession, the "influences causing warts are still very obscure". [56]
In 1907 the physician Giuseppe Ciuffo was the first to demonstrate that warts were caused by a virus infection. In 1976 the virologist Harald zur Hausen was the first to discover that warts were caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). His continuous research established the evidence necessary to develop a HPV vaccine, which first became available in 2006. [56]
Human papillomavirus infection is caused by a DNA virus from the Papillomaviridae family. Many HPV infections cause no symptoms and 90% resolve spontaneously within two years. In some cases, an HPV infection persists and results in either warts or precancerous lesions. These lesions, depending on the site affected, increase the risk of cancer of the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, anus, mouth, tonsils, or throat. Nearly all cervical cancer is due to HPV, and two strains – HPV16 and HPV18 – account for 70% of all cases. HPV16 is responsible for almost 90% of HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancers. Between 60% and 90% of the other cancers listed above are also linked to HPV. HPV6 and HPV11 are common causes of genital warts and laryngeal papillomatosis.
Genital warts are a sexually transmitted infection caused by certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV). They may be flat or project out from the surface of the skin, and their color may vary; brownish, white, pale yellow, pinkish-red, or gray. There may be a few individual warts or several, either in a cluster or merged together to look cauliflower-shaped. They can be itchy and feel burning. Usually they cause few symptoms, but can occasionally be painful. Typically they appear one to eight months following exposure. Warts are the most easily recognized symptom of genital HPV infection.
A plantar wart is a wart occurring on the bottom of the foot or toes. Its color is typically similar to that of the skin. Small black dots often occur on the surface. One or more may occur in an area. They may result in pain with pressure such that walking is difficult.
Penile cancer, or penile carcinoma, is a cancer that develops in the skin or tissues of the penis. Symptoms may include abnormal growth, an ulcer or sore on the skin of the penis, and bleeding or foul smelling discharge.
Actinic keratosis (AK), sometimes called solar keratosis or senile keratosis, is a pre-cancerous area of thick, scaly, or crusty skin. Actinic keratosis is a disorder of epidermal keratinocytes that is induced by ultraviolet (UV) light exposure.
A papilloma is a benign epithelial tumor growing exophytically in nipple-like and often finger-like fronds. In this context, papilla refers to the projection created by the tumor, not a tumor on an already existing papilla.
Pearly penile papules are benign, small bumps or spots on the human penis. They vary in size from 0.5-1 mm, are pearly or flesh-colored, smooth and dome-topped or filiform, and appear in one or, several rows around the corona, the ridge of the head of the penis and sometimes on the penile shaft. They are painless, non-cancerous and not harmful. The medical condition of having such papules is called hirsutoid papillomatosis or hirsuties papillaris coronae glandis.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines are vaccines intended to provide acquired immunity against infection by certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV). The first HPV vaccine became available in 2006. Currently there are six licensed HPV vaccines: three bivalent, two quadrivalent, and one nonavalent vaccine All have excellent safety profiles and are highly efficacious, or have met immunobridging standards. All of them protect against HPV types 16 and 18, which are together responsible for approximately 70% of cervical cancer cases globally. The quadrivalent vaccines provide additional protection against HPV types 6 and 11. The nonavalent provides additional protection against HPV types 31, 33, 45, 52 and 58. It is estimated that HPV vaccines may prevent 70% of cervical cancer, 80% of anal cancer, 60% of vaginal cancer, 40% of vulvar cancer, and show more than 90% effectiveness in preventing HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancers. They also protect against penile cancer. They additionally prevent genital warts, with the quadrivalent and nonavalent vaccines providing virtually complete protection. The WHO recommends a one or two-dose schedule for girls aged 9–14 years, the same for girls and women aged 15–20 years, and two doses with a 6-month interval for women older than 21 years. The vaccines provide protection for at least five to ten years.
A skin infection is an infection of the skin in humans and other animals, that can also affect the associated soft tissues such as loose connective tissue and mucous membranes. They comprise a category of infections termed skin and skin structure infections (SSSIs), or skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs), and acute bacterial SSSIs (ABSSSIs). They are distinguished from dermatitis, although skin infections can result in skin inflammation.
Duct tape occlusion therapy (DTOT) is a method of treating warts by covering them with duct tape for prolonged periods.
Keratolysis is the removal of dead surface skin cells and is a treatment for several types of wart. The most common keratolytic treatment of warts available over-the-counter involves salicylic acid. These products are readily available at most drugstores and supermarkets. There are typically two types of products: adhesive pads treated with salicylic acid or a bottle of concentrated salicylic acid. Removing a wart with this method requires a strict regimen of cleaning the area, applying the salicylic acid, and removing the dead skin with a pumice stone or emery board. It may take up to 12 weeks to remove a stubborn wart.
Gardasil is an HPV vaccine for use in the prevention of certain strains of human papillomavirus (HPV). It was developed by Merck & Co. High-risk human papilloma virus (hr-HPV) genital infection is the most common sexually transmitted infection among women. The HPV strains that Gardasil protects against are sexually transmitted, specifically HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18. HPV types 16 and 18 cause an estimated 70% of cervical cancers, and are responsible for most HPV-induced anal, vulvar, vaginal, and penile cancer cases. HPV types 6 and 11 cause an estimated 90% of genital warts cases. HPV type 16 is responsible for almost 90% of HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancers, and the prevalence is higher in males than females. Though Gardasil does not treat existing infection, vaccination is still recommended for HPV-positive individuals, as it may protect against one or more different strains of the disease.
Bovine papillomaviruses (BPV) are a paraphyletic group of DNA viruses of the subfamily Firstpapillomavirinae of Papillomaviridae that are common in cattle. All BPVs have a circular double-stranded DNA genome. Infection causes warts of the skin and alimentary tract, and more rarely cancers of the alimentary tract and urinary bladder. They are also thought to cause the skin tumour equine sarcoid in horses and donkeys.
Cervarix is a vaccine against certain types of cancer-causing human papillomavirus (HPV).
Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV) is a skin condition characterised by warty skin lesions. It results from an abnormal susceptibility to HPV infection (HPV) and is associated with a high lifetime risk of squamous cell carcinomas in skin. It generally presents with scaly spots and small bumps particularly on the hands, feet, face and neck; typically beginning in childhood or in a young adult. The bumps tend to be flat, grow in number and then merge to form plaques. On the trunk, it typically appears like pityriasis versicolor; lesions there being slightly scaly and tan, brown, red or looking pale. On the elbows, it may appear like psoriasis. On the forehead, neck and trunk, the lesions may appear like seborrheic keratosis.
Margaret Anne Stanley, OBE FMedSc, is a British virologist and epithelial biologist. She attended the Universities of London, Bristol, and Adelaide. As of 2018, she is an Emeritus Professor of Epithelial Biology in the Department of Pathology at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. She is also an Honorary Fellow of the UK Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and an honorary fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge. Stanley is a research scientist in virology focusing on the human papillomavirus (HPV). Her research work has led to new scientific findings on HPV. Additionally, she uses her expertise on HPV to serve on multiple advisory committees and journal editorial boards.
A squamous cell papilloma is a generally benign papilloma that arises from the stratified squamous epithelium of the skin, lip, oral cavity, tongue, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, cervix, vagina or anal canal. Squamous cell papillomas are typically associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) while sometimes the cause is unknown.
Periungual warts are warts that cluster around the fingernail or toenail. They appear as thickened, fissured cauliflower-like skin around the nail plate. Periungual warts often cause loss of the cuticle and paronychia. Nail biting increases susceptibility to these warts.
HspE7 is an investigational therapeutic vaccine candidate being developed by Nventa Biopharmaceuticals for the treatment of precancerous and cancerous lesions caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). HspE7 uses recombinant DNA technology to covalently fuse a heat shock protein (Hsp) to a target antigen, thereby stimulating cellular immune system responses to specific diseases. HspE7 is a patented construct consisting of the HPV Type 16 E7 protein and heat shock protein 65 (Hsp65) and is currently the only candidate using Hsp technology to target the over 20 million Americans already infected with HPV.
Human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal cancer awareness and prevention is a vital concept from a public and community health perspective.