Health
Thursday, 11 June 2009 10:06
Written by Damon T.K. Choy

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Empowering women against cervical cancer
Precautions for the threat of a prevalent disease

Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer detected in women. The most important risk factor in the development of cervical cancer is infection with a high-risk strain of human papilloma virus (HPV).

Cervical HPV infection is extremely common in sexually-active young women; HPV types 16 and 18 are the two HPV strains currently responsible for approximately 70 percent of all cervical cancer cases worldwide.

The development of cervical cancer is gradual and begins as a pre-cancerous condition called dysplasia. In this form it is 100 percent curable, usually without the need for a hysterectomy. Dysplasia, depending on its severity, can be resolved without treatment, but may progress to actual cancer, known as ‘carcinoma in situ’ (CIS) when it has not yet spread, or ‘microinvasive’ where the maximum depth of invasion is less than 3mm.

Click here to read on... Empowering women against cervical cancer
Precautions for the threat of a prevalent disease

Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer detected in women. The most important risk factor in the development of cervical cancer is infection with a high-risk strain of human papilloma virus (HPV).

Cervical HPV infection is extremely common in sexually-active young women; HPV types 16 and 18 are the two HPV strains currently responsible for approximately 70 percent of all cervical cancer cases worldwide.

The development of cervical cancer is gradual and begins as a pre-cancerous condition called dysplasia. In this form it is 100 percent curable, usually without the need for a hysterectomy. Dysplasia, depending on its severity, can be resolved without treatment, but may progress to actual cancer, known as ‘carcinoma in situ’ (CIS) when it has not yet spread, or ‘microinvasive’ where the maximum depth of invasion is less than 3mm.

This process may take many years, but once the cancer is established it spreads further into nearby tissues, usually the adjacent pelvic tissues and drainage lymph nodes. When more advanced it may spread to other organs such as the intestines, liver and lungs.

Early stages can be treated with a radical hysterectomy or radiation therapy, which include both external and internal methods of radiation treatment. A patient treated with surgery who exhibits high risk features is given radiation therapy with chemotherapy in order to reduce the risk of relapse before the surgery.

Vaccines are available to help protect against HPV. The vaccine Cervaix, one of the first preventive vaccines explicitly developed to protect against HPV types 16 and 18, is on the market.

An effective approach to early detection of pre-cancerous cells is a proper and regular pap smear, involving a swab and examination of cells from the cervix and uterine cavity. Often a single pap smear is not enough and may not show any abnormal cells even when dysplasia or cancer is present.

If the pap smear’s results suggest dysplasia or if the cervix appears abnormal, further examination of the cervix is required and biopsies of suspicious sites are taken.

One key thing to remember is that pre-cancers are completely curable when treated and followed up properly. Survival with CIS and even microinvasive cervical cancer is also nearly 100 percent. Experts recommend that women should combine the benefits of both methods with regular pap smear screening even after the HPV vaccination.

Dr. Damon T.K.Choy is a Specialist in Clinical Oncology at AmMed Cancer Center

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