Cervical Cancer

Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer is the term for a malignant neoplasm arising from cells originating in the cervix. Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers, yet remains the world's second-leading cancer killer of women. Of the 490,000 cases diagnosed every year, more than 280,000 will die. Cervical cancer is a very large public health problem. It is the third most prevalent gynecological cancer that especially threatens women who are over 30 years old and who have children .Cervical cancer is a problem for this target population, and as a result, illness in these females impacts the community because of their loss of work time, their inability to perform their occupations, and their inability to care for their families. The financial burden of cervical cancer also impacts the family, the community, and the United States as a whole because this disease is associated with high health costs. Poor women or those without insurance use tax dollars to finance their treatment via county hospitals, Medicare, or Medicaid. If there is no public health program that will give the a woman treatment, if she has no insurance, or if she cannot pay for her treatment, then it is most likely that she will die as a result of the advance of the disease.

There are several factors that increase a woman's risk of developing cervical cancer. Women without any of these risk factors rarely develop cervical cancer. Although these risk factors increase the odds of developing cervical cancer, many women with these risks do not develop this disease. When a woman develops cervical cancer or pre-cancerous changes, it is not possible to say with certainty that there was a particular risk factor which was the cause.

One risk factor of cancer is age; the average age of women newly diagnosed with cervical cancer is between 50 and 55 years. The risk of developing this cancer is very low among girls less than fifteen. This risk increases between the late teens and mid-thirties. Unlike many other cancers that rarely affect young adults, cervical cancer can affect young women in their twenties and even in their teens. Many older women do not realize that they have the highest risk of developing cervical cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute infection of the cervix, human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common cause of cervical cancer. HPV is a very common infection that can be spread from person to person through sexual contact. Past studies have shown that up to 75 percent of people will be infected at some point during their lifetime. In 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that 20 million people in the United States had the virus. To present date, over 100 different types of HPV have been identified and some cause no known harm. Several types are known to infect the genital tract of both women and men and, like other sexually transmitted infections (STI's); they are often present without signs or symptoms.

HPV is the most common risk factor of Cervical Cancer. Risk factors for HPV infection include: previous genital cancer, HIV infection, multiple sex partners, or a weakened immune system. A few types of HPV cause genital warts which are easily treated and not linked with cancer. Some types of HPV infection have been linked to invasive cancer of the cervix, vagina, vulva, and anus, with cervical cancer being the most prominent. HPV causes the cells on or around theses areas to become abnormal or precancerous. This process is called dysphasia. These precancerous changes may, but not always, progress to cancer. In fact, in many instances, the abnormal cells and HPV will go away without treatment over the course of months to years. The obvious concern is to catch the abnormal cells that won't go away before they progress to a malignancy. Low socioeconomic status is also a risk factor for cervical cancer. Many people with low incomes do not have quick access to adequate health care services, including Pap tests and treatment of pre-cancerous cervical disease. Such women may also be undernourished, which may play a role in increasing their risk.

There are other ways of prevention of HPV. Condoms can offer some protection against cervical cancer. Condoms may prevent against genital warts and precursors to cervical cancer. Condoms also provide protection against STDs such as HIV and Chlamydia, which are associated with greater risk of developing cervical cancer. Smoking also can increase the chances of development of cervical cancer. Carcinogens from tobacco increase the risk for many cancer types, including cervical cancer, and women who smoke have about double the chance of a nonsmoker to develop cervical cancer. Eating a healthy diet may also decrease the risk of HPV. Cervical cancer screening is typically recommended starting three years or more after first sex, or starting at age 21 to 25. (M. Arbyn; et al. 2010. Annals of Oncology 21 (3)).Recommendations for how often a Pap smear should be done vary from once a year to once every five years, in the absence of abnormal results.

Cervical cancer is the most preventable cancer in the world. Women can get pap smears on a regular basis to identify the abnormal cells on the cervix. If a certain minimal level of abnormality is seen, their doctor may order an HPV test. This test checks for the high-risk types of HPV infection that have been linked to the development of cervical cancer, but not all types of HPV. If the PAP test shows more significant abnormalities a procedure called colposcopy, or biopsies, is performed. Treatment of the abnormal cells can usually be easily accomplished in the office or with an outpatient surgery. If the infection is not discovered and treated early then abnormal cells can develop in the lining of the cervix. The cervix is the part of the uterus that connects the upper part of the uterus (the womb) and the vagina. These abnormal cells can become precancerous