evidence: HPV can cause six types of cancer: These include anal cancer, cervical cancer, oropharyngeal cancer, penile cancer, vaginal cancer, and vulvar cancer. [...] - Cervical cancer: Virtually all cervical cancer is caused by HPV. Routine screening with an HPV test or Pap test can prevent most cervical cancer by allowing health care providers to find and remove precancerous cells before they develop into cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is most common in rarely or never screened women. Learn about trends in diagnosis and survival rates for cervical cancer. [...] Once high-risk HPV infects cervical cells, it interferes with the ways in which these cells replicate, divide, and communicate with one another, causing infected cells to multiply in an uncontrolled manner. These infected cells are usually recognized and controlled by the immune system. However, sometimes the infected cells remain and continue to grow, eventually forming an area of precancerous cells that, if not treated, can become cancer. Although research has focused on how high-risk HPV causes cancer in the cervix, HPV-caused cancers at other sites are likely to arise through similar mechanisms.