High-risk or oncogenic HPVs can cause cancer. At least 12 high-risk HPV types have been identified. Two of these, HPV types 16 and 18, are responsible for the majority of HPV-caused cancers.
The types of HPV that can cause genital warts are not the same as the types that can cause cancer.
However, high-risk HPV infections can sometimes progress into cancer of the cervix or other cancers, such as anal cancer. This occurs when high-risk HPV infections persist and cause cell changes that do not get treated, so over time, cancer may occur. Note that it is only persistent HPV infections (the kind that don’t resolve and become chronic) that increase the risk for cancer.
Again, the types of HPV that can cause cancer are not the same as the types that can cause genital warts.