HPV Symptoms and Diagnosis

Certain strains of HPV can also lead to cancer. It’s important to know its signs and symptoms so you know if you’re at risk.

Here’s everything you need to know about HPV symptoms, complications, and treatments.

Common Skin Warts (Nongenital)

Common warts often appear on the fingers, around the fingernails, and on the backs of the hands. They may also grow on the arms or on the face. The growths may feel like rough bumps and may have tiny black dots in them. Common warts are more likely to grow in areas where the skin is frequently broken or irritated.

Plantar warts grow on the soles of the feet. They sometimes grow in clusters, in which case they’re known as mosaic warts. Typically hard and grainy, plantar warts may be flat or grow inward. They can be painful to walk on.

Palmar warts are similar to plantar warts. They grow on the palms of the hands.

Flat warts are flat-topped and usually smaller and smoother than other warts. They often grow in large numbers (20 to 100 at a time) and can occur anywhere, but frequently occur on the face in children, the beard area in men, and the legs in women.

Filiform warts resemble finger-like projections or long threads. They often appear on the face and often grow quickly.

Periungual warts are most commonly seen in people who bite their nails or pick at their cuticles. Periungual warts form in clusters around fingernails or toenails and may extend under the nails as well. They typically appear as cauliflower-like thickened skin and may be fissured, inflamed, or tender. Periungual warts are difficult to treat and have a high recurrence rate.

Genital Warts

Warts that develop in the genital and anal regions are caused by a group of HPV types that are different from those that cause skin warts.

So-called genital warts can also form on other mucosal surfaces, like the inside of the nose, mouth, and throat. They may also occur in the trachea and bronchi (the windpipe and smaller air passages leading to the lungs) and on the inner eyelids.

HPV types that cause genital warts are usually, but not always, transmitted during intimate sexual contact.

Genital warts, which are sometimes too small to see, may be:

• Flat or raised
• Grouped in clusters, resembling cauliflower
• Pink or flesh-colored
• Soft to the touch
• Painful or itchy

They typically grow:

• Inside or around the anus
• On the upper thighs
• In the groin area
• On the scrotum and penis, including under the foreskin and in the urethral opening
• Inside the vagina, on the cervix (lower end of the uterus), or around the vulva (area outside the vagina)

Cancer is a major complication that can occur with certain strains of HPV.

• Cervical cancer
• Vulvar cancer
• Vaginal cancer
• Penile cancer
• Anal cancer
• Oropharyngeal cancer (cancer of the back of the throat)

• Biopsy Your doctor may refer you to a dermatologist for a biopsy (removal of tissue for examination under a microscope) to be sure your skin condition is a wart. A biopsy of the cervix may also be done for women who show changes in the cells of their cervix, which could indicate precancerous changes.

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• Colposcopy For women, a doctor may perform a colposcopy — a procedure that uses a light and a low-power microscope — to find genital warts on your cervix that are too small to see with the naked eye, or to look for precancerous changes in the tissue of the cervix, vagina, or vulva.
• Pap Test Can detect precancerous changes in tissue of the cervix, and may be used for screening when a primary HPV test isn’t available. It can be administered by itself or along with an HPV test.

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• HPV Test The HPV test can detect HPV types 16 and 18 — considered the highest-risk HPV types for cancer — and provide broad results for 12 other high-risk HPV types in tissue of the cervix.

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• Primary HPV Test You can receive a screening that tests only for HPV. A clinician may collect the sample via vaginal swab, or you can do it yourself. This test should be repeated every three years.
• Combined HPV and Pap Test This test screens for both HPV and cervical cancer, and it’s the American Cancer Society’s preferred method. A clinician conducts this screening, and it can be repeated every five years.

• Warts on your face
• Warts on your genitals
• Many warts
• Warts that change, bleed, itch, burn, or hurt
• Have a weakened immune system (such as HIV, cancer, or organ transplant)
• Are concerned about or are unsure if you have warts

Your doctor can determine if you have warts, if they are a cause for concern, and prescribe treatment for them if it’s needed.

• HPV is incredibly common, and most people will contract it at some point in their lives.
• Most HPV infections cause no symptoms, while others cause skin warts or genital warts.
• Certain strains of HPV have the potential to develop into cancer if left untreated.
• The majority of HPV infections will clear on their own and won’t develop into cancer.