Cervical cancer is a malignancy of the cervix. Worldwide, it is the second most common cancer of women. It may present with vaginal bleeding but symptoms may be absent until the cancer is in advanced stages, which has made cervical cancer the focus of intense screening efforts utilizing the Pap smear. Most scientific studies point to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection as a necessary pre-requisite for development of cervical cancer. Treatment is with surgery (including cryosurgery) in early stages and chemotherapy and radiotherapy in ...

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• Cervical cancer - Signs and symptoms
• Cervical cancer - Diagnosis
• Cervical cancer - Staging
• Cervical cancer - Pathophysiology
• Cervical cancer - Treatment
• Cervical cancer - Epidemiology
• Cervical cancer - History
• Cervical cancer - Vaccine

Read more here: » Cervical cancer: Encyclopedia - Cervical cancer

Cervical cancer is staged by the FIGO staging system, which is based on clinical examination, rather than surgical findings. It allows only the following diagnostic tests to be used in determining the stage: palpation, inspection, colposcopy, endocervical curettage, hysteroscopy, cystoscopy, proctoscopy, intravenous urography, and X-ray examination of the lungs and skeleton, and cervical conization. The TNM staging system for cervical cancer is analogous to the FIGO stage. Stage 0 - full-thickness involvement of the epith ...

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Cervical cancer, Cervical cancer - Signs and symptoms, Cervical cancer - Diagnosis, Cervical cancer - Staging, Cervical cancer - Pathophysiology, Cervical cancer - Treatment, Cervical cancer - Epidemiology, Cervical cancer - History, Cervical cancer - Vaccine

Read more here: » Cervical cancer: Encyclopedia II - Cervical cancer - Staging

Epidemiologists working in the early 20th century noted that: Cervical cancer was common in female sex workers. It was rare in nuns, except for those who had been sexually active before entering the convent. It was more common in the second wives of men whose first wives had died from cervical cancer. It was rare in Jewish women.[3] This led to the deduction that cervical cancer could be caused by a sexually transmitted agent. Initial research in the 1950s and 1960s put the blame on smegm ...

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Cervical cancer, Cervical cancer - Signs and symptoms, Cervical cancer - Diagnosis, Cervical cancer - Staging, Cervical cancer - Pathophysiology, Cervical cancer - Treatment, Cervical cancer - Epidemiology, Cervical cancer - History, Cervical cancer - Vaccine

Read more here: » Cervical cancer: Encyclopedia II - Cervical cancer - History

Worldwide, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women (after breast cancer) and is the third leading killer (behind breast and lung cancer). It affects about 16 per 100,000 women per year and causes death in about 9 per 100,000 per year. In the United States, however, cervical cancer is only the 8th most common cancer of women. About 12,800 women in the United States are diagnosed with cervical cancer and about 4,800 die each year (Canavan & Doshi, 2000). Among gynecological cancers it ranks behind endometrial cance ...

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Cervical cancer, Cervical cancer - Signs and symptoms, Cervical cancer - Diagnosis, Cervical cancer - Staging, Cervical cancer - Pathophysiology, Cervical cancer - Treatment, Cervical cancer - Epidemiology, Cervical cancer - History, Cervical cancer - Vaccine

Read more here: » Cervical cancer: Encyclopedia II - Cervical cancer - Epidemiology

Microinvasive cancer (stage IA) is usually treated by hysterectomy (removal of the whole uterus including part of the vagina). For stage IA2, the lymph nodes are removed as well. An alternative for patients who desire to maintain fertility is a local surgical procedure such as a LEEP or cone biopsy. Early stages (IB1 and IIA less than 4cm) can be treated with radical hysterectomy with removal of the lymph nodes or radiation therapy. Radiation therapy is given as external beam radiotherapy to the pelvis and brachytherapy (internal radi ...

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Cervical cancer, Cervical cancer - Signs and symptoms, Cervical cancer - Diagnosis, Cervical cancer - Staging, Cervical cancer - Pathophysiology, Cervical cancer - Treatment, Cervical cancer - Epidemiology, Cervical cancer - History, Cervical cancer - Vaccine

Read more here: » Cervical cancer: Encyclopedia II - Cervical cancer - Treatment

Diagnosis is made by doing a biopsy of the cervix, which often involves colposcopy, or a magnified visual inspection of the cervix aided by using an acetic acid solution to produce color changes in precancerous or cancerous areas. A Pap smear is insufficient for the diagnosis. Many researchers recommend that since more than 99% of invasive cervical cancers worldwide contain human papillomavirus, HPV testing should be carried out together with routine cervical screening (Walboomers et al, 1999). However, given the prevalence of HPV (around 80% infection history among the sexually active population) others suggest that routine HPV ...

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Cervical cancer, Cervical cancer - Signs and symptoms, Cervical cancer - Diagnosis, Cervical cancer - Staging, Cervical cancer - Pathophysiology, Cervical cancer - Treatment, Cervical cancer - Epidemiology, Cervical cancer - History, Cervical cancer - Vaccine

Read more here: » Cervical cancer: Encyclopedia II - Cervical cancer - Diagnosis

The American Cancer Society provides the following list of risk factors for cervical cancer: human papillomavirus infection, smoking, HIV infection, chlamydia infection, dietary factors, oral contraceptives, multiple pregnancies, low socioeconomic status, use of the hormonal drug diethylstilbestrol (DES) and a family history of cervical cancer. The presence of strains 16, 18 and 31 of human papillomavirus (HPV) is the prime risk factor for cervical cancer, and Walboomers et al. (1999) reported that the presence of HPV is a nece ...

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Cervical cancer, Cervical cancer - Signs and symptoms, Cervical cancer - Diagnosis, Cervical cancer - Staging, Cervical cancer - Pathophysiology, Cervical cancer - Treatment, Cervical cancer - Epidemiology, Cervical cancer - History, Cervical cancer - Vaccine

Read more here: » Cervical cancer: Encyclopedia II - Cervical cancer - Pathophysiology

The early stages of cervical cancer may be completely asymptomatic (Canavan & Doshi, 2000). Vaginal bleeding, contact bleeding or (rarely) a vaginal mass may indicate the presence of malignancy. In advanced disease, metastases may be present in the abdomen, lungs or elsewhere. The possibility to identify premalignant changes on a cervical smear has made screening the major cause for referral of women with possible cervical neoplasia. In many countries, women are advised to have a regular Pap smear to check for premalignant changes ...

See also:

Cervical cancer, Cervical cancer - Signs and symptoms, Cervical cancer - Diagnosis, Cervical cancer - Staging, Cervical cancer - Pathophysiology, Cervical cancer - Treatment, Cervical cancer - Epidemiology, Cervical cancer - History, Cervical cancer - Vaccine

Read more here: » Cervical cancer: Encyclopedia II - Cervical cancer - Signs and symptoms