 Cervical cancer is caused by infection with specific genotypes of the human papillomavirus referred to as oncogenic or high-risk human papillomavirus. Current epidemiologic evidence suggests that 80 of sexually active women will become infected during their lifetime with human papillomavirus and 50 of these infections will be due to high-risk human papillomavirus. With US annual rates of cervical cancer now in the range of 13,000year, a very substantial number of women are left with uncertainty regarding whether their infection will clear spontaneously or progress to cancer. 