Waterpipe as a Risk Factor for Genital Warts? A Case Report

Human papillomaviruses (HPV) infection is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the world. HPV infection causes some kinds of cancers including female (cervical cancer, vulvar) and male genital cancer, oropharyngeal cancers and also genital warts. There are risk factors which determine whether an HPV-infected individual could develop to cervical cancer or genital warts. Among these risk factors, tobacco and cigarette smoking play a significant role in developing cervical cancer and genital warts.

this case report is about a young woman who had developed extensive genital warts a year after she started waterpipe smoking. Those genital warts were healed spontaneously after cessation of waterpipe smoking.

the primary hypothesis that could be propounded, is that waterpipe smoke plays a role as an independent risk factor in developing genital warts, like cigarette smoke.