Visceral CLET IRAT 3 Practice Test

HPV is the sexually transmitted infection most strongly linked to anogenital cancer. High‑risk HPV types, especially 16 and 18, can persist in the cells lining the genital and anal areas. Over time, the viral proteins E6 and E7 disrupt the cell’s tumor-suppressor pathways (p53 and Rb), which normally keep cell growth in check. When these pathways are inactivated, cells can accumulate genetic changes and progress from dysplasia to precancerous lesions and eventually to cancer. This is why HPV infection is a major driver of not only cervical cancer but other anogenital cancers as well as some oropharyngeal cancers. Vaccines targeting these high‑risk types reduce the risk by preventing infection. The other infections listed are serious STDs with different health impacts, but they do not have the same well-established causal link to cancer as HPV.