Sexual health

High-Risk and Low-Risk HPV, Explained

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A positive HPV result raises an immediate question: which kind? This piece separates the two categories that matter — the high-risk types capable of causing cancer if an infection lingers, and the low-risk types behind genital warts — and covers how each is found, how each usually resolves on its own, and what actually prevents both.

Last updated: July 2026

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What's the difference between high-risk and low-risk HPV?

HPV is not one virus but a family of more than 200 related viruses, and only some of them are linked to cancer. High-risk types are the ones capable of causing cell changes that can, if left unaddressed for years, progress to cancer; low-risk types are not associated with cancer at all and instead cause visible genital warts 1.

Having HPV does not, by itself, say which category applies — that depends entirely on which of the roughly 40 genital types someone was exposed to, and most people who have ever been sexually active will encounter at least one type in their lifetime.

How many HPV types are there, and which ones actually matter

Of the more than 200 HPV types identified, around 40 infect the genital area, and only a subset of those are classified as high-risk. Types 16 and 18 account for the majority of HPV-related cancers, while types 6 and 11 cause the large majority of genital warts 1.

The remaining high-risk and low-risk types are far less common individually but are grouped the same way — by what they are capable of causing, not by how likely someone is to encounter them. A lab result naming a specific type is really answering one question underneath: does it fall in the cancer-associated group or not.

What high-risk HPV can do if it lingers

A high-risk HPV infection is not a cancer diagnosis — it is a risk factor that matters only if the infection persists for years rather than clearing. Persistent infection with a high-risk type is the necessary first step toward cervical cancer and several other cancers, including anal, oropharyngeal, vulvar, vaginal, and penile cancer 2.

Whether does hpv cause cancer is really a question about persistence, not exposure: most people exposed to a high-risk type never develop cancer, because most infections clear before they have a chance to cause lasting cell changes. HPV causes roughly 39,300 cancers in the United States each year, with cervical cancer the most common HPV-associated cancer in women and oropharyngeal (throat) cancer the most common in men 2. How hpv and cervical cancer connect is the best-studied of these pathways, since nearly every case of cervical cancer traces back to a persistent high-risk infection. The other hpv cancers beyond the cervix — hpv throat cancer and anal cancer especially — get less public attention but represent a real and growing share of the overall burden, particularly in men, who have no routine screening test the way cervical screening exists for women.

What low-risk HPV causes

Low-risk HPV types are the ones behind genital warts — small, flesh-colored or gray growths that can appear on the genitals, around the anus, or in the mouth or throat, depending on how the infection was acquired. Low-risk HPV types are not linked to cancer at all, no matter how long an infection lasts 1.

Most hpv symptoms, in the sense of anything visible or felt, come from low-risk types; high-risk infections are typically silent until cell changes are found on a screening test, which is exactly why screening exists rather than waiting to notice something wrong. Warts themselves can be uncomfortable or upsetting to notice, and can take weeks to months to resolve, but they represent a completely separate biological pathway from the one that leads to cancer. Having a low-risk infection says nothing about someone's risk from a high-risk type, and the reverse is also true — the two categories do not overlap or predict each other.

Why most HPV infections clear on their own, regardless of type

Most HPV infections, whether high-risk or low-risk, are cleared by the immune system within one to two years without ever causing a visible problem. That is true of the majority of infections in both categories, which is why a positive HPV test result at a single point in time is not the same as a permanent diagnosis 1.

Persistence, not the initial infection, is what determines whether a high-risk type goes on to cause cell changes worth monitoring. That is also why clinicians increasingly think in terms of hpv clearance over time rather than treating any single positive result as a fixed, lifelong fact. Whether can you get rid of hpv through medication is a common question, and the honest answer is no — there is no treatment that clears the virus directly; the immune system does that work on its own timeline.

Can testing tell you which type you have?

Routine HPV testing, the kind done alongside or instead of a Pap test, generally checks only for high-risk types, since those are the ones screening programs are designed to catch before they cause cancer. There is no routine test that identifies low-risk, wart-causing types — those are diagnosed by their appearance instead 1.

A positive high-risk HPV test does not usually name the exact type — it flags the high-risk category as a whole, since that broad distinction is what matters for follow-up. Either way, the result routes to the same next step: monitoring or further evaluation, not an immediate cancer diagnosis.

Preventing high-risk and low-risk HPV

The HPV vaccine is the most effective tool available, and current guidance recommends routine vaccination at ages 11 to 12, with catch-up vaccination through age 26, and a shared decision-making conversation for some adults ages 27 to 45 3. Getting vaccinated before any exposure to HPV offers the strongest protection, since the vaccine cannot clear an infection someone already has.

Condoms reduce, but do not eliminate, the chance of HPV transmission, since the virus spreads through skin-to-skin contact that a condom does not fully cover 4. Between the two, vaccination is the more powerful tool specifically because it works before any exposure happens, rather than reducing risk during it.

Common questions

No. Most people with a high-risk HPV infection never develop cancer, because most infections clear on their own within one to two years. A positive result means closer monitoring is worthwhile going forward, not that cancer is inevitable or even likely.

No. The two categories are caused by different HPV types, and an infection does not change from one category to the other. Someone can be infected with more than one type at once, including both a high-risk and a low-risk type, but each behaves independently.

Not necessarily. Genital warts are caused by low-risk types, and having them does not tell you anything about whether a high-risk type is also present. The two are usually tested for and managed separately, since they follow entirely different biological paths.

Routine HPV testing, done as part of cervical screening, checks for high-risk types and can detect an infection before it causes any symptoms. There is no equivalent routine screening test for low-risk types, which are typically identified only once a wart appears.

The vaccine is designed to protect against several of the types responsible for the most cancers and the most genital warts. It works best when given before any exposure to HPV, which is why it is routinely recommended at ages 11 to 12.

Men can carry and transmit both high-risk and low-risk HPV types, and high-risk types can cause cancers in men too, including oropharyngeal and anal cancer. There is currently no routine, approved HPV screening test for men the way there is for cervical screening in women.

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When to seek care for an HPV-related concern

  • —A genital wart that is bleeding, rapidly growing, or intensely painful
  • —Unusual vaginal bleeding between periods, after sex, or after menopause
  • —A persistent sore throat, difficulty swallowing, or a lump in the neck lasting several weeks
  • —A new lump, sore, or growth in the genital or anal area that does not resolve on its own

This explains the general difference between high-risk and low-risk HPV; it is educational information, not a diagnosis. A clinician can interpret specific test results and recommend appropriate follow-up or evaluation.

References

  1. 1.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024). Human Papillomavirus (HPV). CDC (cdc.gov/hpv). linkGeneral overview supporting that HPV is a family of more than 200 types, that most infections clear on their own, and that persistent infection with a high-risk type — as distinct from low-risk, wart-causing types — can progress to cancer; also the basis for describing routine high-risk-only HPV testing versus visual diagnosis of warts.
  2. 2.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024). Basic Information about HPV and Cancer. CDC (cdc.gov/cancer). linkSupports that HPV causes most cervical cancers plus some vaginal, vulvar, penile, anal, and oropharyngeal cancers, and that HPV causes roughly 39,300 cancers per year in the U.S., with cervical cancer the most common HPV-associated cancer in women and oropharyngeal cancer the most common in men.
  3. 3.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices) (2024). ACIP Recommendations: Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine. CDC ACIP Recommendations. linkSupports the U.S. HPV vaccination recommendation: routine vaccination at ages 11-12, catch-up vaccination through age 26, and shared clinical decision-making for some adults ages 27-45.
  4. 4.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024). Condom Use: An Overview. CDC (cdc.gov/condom-use). linkSupports that condoms provide only partial protection against STIs spread by skin-to-skin contact, such as HPV, since they only cover the area they cover.

4 sources, numbered by first appearance. General health information, not medical advice. AI-assisted editorial content — citations link their sources. Editorial policy

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