Abstract
It's known that having multiple sexual partners is one of the risk factors of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection which is a major cause of cervical cancer. However, it is not clear whether the number of sexual partners is an independent risk factor for cervical cancer. We identified relevant studies by searching the databases of MEDLINE, PubMed and ScienceDirect published in English from January 1980 to January 2014. We analyzed those studies by combining the study-specific odds ratios (ORs) using random-effects models. Forty-one studies were included in this meta-analysis. We observed that the number of sexual partners was associated with the occurrence of non-malignant cervical disease (OR=1.82, 95%CI 1.63-2.00) and invasive cervical carcinoma (OR=1.77, 95%CI 1.50-2.05). Subgroup analyses revealed that the association remained significant after controlling for HPV infection (OR=1.52, 95%CI 1.21-1.83 for non-malignant disease; OR=1.53, 95%CI 1.30- 1.76 for invasive cervical carcinoma). We found that there was a non-linear relation of the number of sexual partners with both non-malignant cervical disease and invasive cervical carcinoma. The risk of both malignant and non-malignant disease is relatively stable in women with more than 4-7 sexual partners. Furthermore, the frequency-risk of disease remained significant after controlling for HPV infection.The study suggested that having multiple sexual partners, with or without HPV infection, is a potential risk factor of cervical cancer.
Highlights
Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer and an important public health problem worldwide
It’s known that having multiple sexual partners is one of the risk factors of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection which is a major cause of cervical cancer
From the result of this meta-analysis, we observed a significant increased risk of cervical diseases in individuals with multiple sexual partners compared to individuals with few partners, both in non-malignant cervical disease and in ICC
Summary
Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer and an important public health problem worldwide. It is generally known that HPV infection is one of the major causes of cervical cancer (Kjaer et al, 1996a; Walboomers et al, 1999). After the discovery of the strong link between HPV infection and cervical cancer, it remains unclear and controversial whether the associations of other known risk factors for cervical cancer are still relative or have become irrelevant. With the development of HPV vaccines, most vaccinating women will be protected from the infection. HPV is not found in all cases of this neoplasm, and most HPV-positive patients have not proceeded to cervical cancer. It is necessary to investigate what are the other important risk factors of cervical cancer
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
