Cervical cancer screening
Cervical cancer screening
The uterine cervix is the lowest portion of uterus, connecting the uterus with vagina. The cancer arising from the cervix is known as cervical cancer. It is due to abnormal growth of cells that have ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body, most notably the lung, liver, bladder, vagina and rectum. However, cervical cancer is slow growing, so its progression through precancerous changes provides opportunities for prevention, early detection and treatment.
At early stage typically no symptoms are seen. Later symptoms include bleeding, pelvic pain and pain during sexual intercourse. Symptoms of advanced cervical cancer include: loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, pelvic pain, back pain, leg pain, swollen legs, heavy vaginal bleeding. Bleeding after douching or pelvic exam is a common symptom of cervical cancer.
Risk Factors
1). HPV: causes more than 90% of the cases
2). Smoking
3). Weak immune system
4). Birth control pills
5). Starting sex at young age
6). Multiple Partners
Screening
As with all cancers, an early diagnosis of cervical cancer is key to successful treatment and cure. Treating precancerous changes that affect only the surface of a small part of the cervix is much more likely to be successful than treating invasive cancer that affects a large portion of the cervix and has spread to other tissues.
Test for screening cervical cancer: Pap smear, Visual inspection with acetic acid(VIA), Visual inspection with lugol’s iodine(VILI),HPV
Screening recommendation for specific age group
< 21 years: No screening recommended 21-29 years: Cytology (Pap smear) alone every 3 years
30-65 years: HPV and cytology both every 5 years and cytology alone every 3years
> 65 years: No screening required if adequate prior screening has been negative and high risk is not present.
Prevention
• Make sure you get a Pap test to check for cervical cancer every 3 years if you are 21 or older.
• If you are 30-65, you can get both a Pap test and human papillomavirus (HPV) test every 5 years. Older than that, you may be able to stop testing if your doctor says you are low risk.
• If you are sexually active and have a higher risk for STDs, get tests for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis yearly. Take an HIV test at least once, more frequently if you’re at risk.
• Avoiding smoking
• Avoiding sex at early age
• Avoiding multiple partners
• HPV vaccination
Treatment
Treatment of cervical cancer varies according to the stages of the cancer at the time of diagnosis.
The available options of treatment are:
1. Surgery
2. Radiotherapy
3. Chemotherapy
What is screening?
Screening is looking for cancer before a person has any symptoms. This can help find cancer at an early stage. When abnormal tissue or cancer is found early, it may be easier to treat. By the time symptoms appear, cancer may have begun to spread.
Scientists are trying to better understand which people are more likely to get certain types of cancer. They also study the things we do and the things around us to see if they cause cancer. This information helps doctors recommend who should be screened for cancer, which screening tests should be used, and how often the tests should be done.
It is important to remember that your doctor does not necessarily think you have cancer if he or she suggests a screening test. Screening tests are given when you have no cancer symptoms.
If a screening test result is abnormal, you may need to have more tests done to find out if you have cancer. These are called diagnostic tests.
General Information About Cervical Cancer
Key Points
- Cervical cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the cervix.
- Screening for cervical cancer using the Pap test has decreased the number of new cases of cervical cancer and the number of deaths due to cervical cancer since 1950.
- Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the major risk factor for cervical cancer.
Cervical cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the cervix.
The cervix is the lower, narrow end of the uterus (the hollow, pear-shaped organ where a fetus grows). The cervix leads from the uterus to the vagina (birth canal).
Cervical cancer usually develops slowly over time. Before cancer appears in the cervix, the cells of the cervix go through changes known as dysplasia, in which cells that are not normal begin to appear in the cervical tissue. Later, cancer cells start to grow and spread more deeply into the cervix and to surrounding areas.
A Pap test is commonly used to screen for cervical cancer.
A Pap test is a procedure to collect cells from the surface of the cervix and vagina. A piece of cotton, a brush, or a small wooden stick is used to gently scrape cells from the cervix and vagina. The cells are viewed under a microscope to find out if they are abnormal. This procedure is also called a Pap smear. A new method of collecting and viewing cells has been developed, in which the cells are placed into a liquid before being placed on a slide. It is not known if the new method will work better than the standard method to reduce the number of deaths from cervical cancer.
