Cervical Cancer
Cervical cancer begins in the cervix, a female reproductive organ that connects the uterus to the vagina.
Nearly 11,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with the disease every year. It is a slow-growing cancer that can be detected early with regular pelvic exams and a Pap test.
About Cervical Cancer
Most cervical cancers begin in squamous cells found in the lining of the cervix.
A Pap test may find non-cancerous abnormal cells on the surface of the cervix. If left untreated, these abnormal cells can develop into cancer that may spread deeper into the cervix and invade other tissues and organs.
Who’s at Risk?
Pre-cancerous conditions of the cervix usually occur in women between ages 25 and 35. Invasive cervical cancer is most often diagnosed in women over the age of 40.
Risk Factors
The following risk factors increase the chance of developing cervical cancer:
- HPV: An infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV) is the leading cause of cervical cancer. GARDASIL, a cervical cancer vaccine for girls and young women ages 9 to 26, helps protect against two types of HPV that cause 70 percent of cervical cancer cases.
- Lack of regular Pap tests: A Pap test detects abnormal cells, which can be destroyed before they become cancerous.
- Smoking: Women with HPV and who also smoke cigarettes.
- Many sexual partners: HPV is spread through sexual contact.
- Prolonged used of birth control pills: Women with HPV who have used birth control pills longer than five years.
- Multiple children: Women with HPV who have more than five children.
Treatment
Pre-cancerous abnormal cells can be destroyed by freezing them with liquid nitrogen in a procedure called cryosurgery. Laser surgery may also be performed to burn off the abnormal cells.
For invasive cervical cancer, gynecologic surgery is usually performed to remove the uterus and cervix in a procedure called a hysterectomy. Surgery may also be combined with radiation therapy, chemotherapy or immunotherapy.
Some of the information on this page is provided by the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society.