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Cancer is
a group of more than 100 different diseases. They all affect
the body's basic unit, the cell. Cancer occurs when cells become
abnormal and divide without control.
 All
of the organs of the body are made up of many types of cells.
Normally, cells divide to produce more cells only when the body
needs them. This orderly process helps keep us healthy. If cells
keep dividing when new cells are not needed, a mass of tissue
forms. This mass of extra tissue, called a growth or tumor,
can be benign or malignant.
Benign
tumors are not cancerous. They can usually be removed and,
in most cases, they do not come back. The most important thing
is that cells from benign tumors do not spread to other parts
of the body. Benign tumors are not a threat to life. Polyps,
cysts, and genital
warts are types of benign growths of the cervix.
Malignant
tumors are cancer. Cancer cells can invade and damage tissues
and organs near the tumor. Cancer cells also can break away
from a malignant tumor and enter the lymph system or the bloodstream.
This is how cancer of the cervix can spread to other parts of
the body, such as nearby lymph nodes, the rectum, the bladder,
the bones of the spine, and the lungs. The spread of cancer
is called metastasis.
Like all
other organs of the body, the cervix is made up of many types
of cells. Normally, cells divide to produce more cells only
when the body needs them. This orderly process helps keep us
healthy. Cancer of the uterine cervix, the portion of the uterus
that is attached to the top of the vagina. Ninety percent of
cervical cancers arise from the flattened or "squamous" cells
covering the cervix. Most of the remaining 10% arise from the
glandular, mucus-secreting cells of the cervical canal leading
into the uterus.
Causes
and Risks
Each year, about 15,000 women in the United States learn
that they have cancer of the cervix.
The development
of cervical cancer is gradual and begins as a pre-cancerous
condition called dysplasia. In this form it is 100% treatable,
usually without the need for hysterectomy.
Dysplasia,
depending on its severity, can often resolve without treatment.
More often it eventually progresses to actual cancer -- called
“carcinoma in situ” (CIS) when it has not yet spread,
and “microinvasive” when it has spread only a few
millimeters into the surrounding tissue and has not yet penetrated
blood vessels and lymph channels.
This process
may take many years, but once the cancer is established it quickly
spreads further into the nearby tissues or to other organs,
usually the intestines, liver, and lung. There are often no
symptoms of cervical cancer until the disease is advanced.
The majority
of women diagnosed today with cervical cancer have either not
had regular Pap smears or they have not followed up after having
an abnormal smear. Not having regular Pap smears is the single
greatest risk factor for a bad outcome in women who develop
cervical cancer.
Learn
about Gardasil® - A Vaccine to Wipe out Cervical Cancer?
Risk
factors for cervical cancer:
Infection with human papilloma virus or HPV,
the cause of genital warts.
Not all women who have HPV infection develop cervical cancer.
Scientists believe that certain other factors they call cofactors
are involved in its development. One cofactor is smoking. Tobacco
use damages the immune system and interferes with the body's
ability to resist HPV infection in the cervix.
Multiple sexual partners and/or partners who have multiple
partners.
Early age of first sexual intercourse.
In the early 1970's, it was discovered that women whose
mothers took an estrogen drug during pregnancy called DES (diethylstilbestrol)
are at risk of a rare form of cervical and vaginal cancer. This
drug was used from 1938 until 1971, and was sometimes combined
with prenatal vitamins in the mistaken belief that it prevented
miscarriages. If you are old enough to be a “DES baby”,
ask your mother if she ever was given this drug. For more information
go to the DES Action
web page.
There is a small increased risk of abnormal Pap smears among
women who take birth control pills. It is thought that this
is because such women are more sexually active, are less likely
to use condoms, and have more frequent Pap smears in order to
be prescribed the birth control pill.
Women whose immune systems are weakened, such as those with
HIV infection or women who have received organ transplants and
are taking drugs to suppress the immune system may be at a higher
risk.
Infections with genital herpes or chronic Chlamydia
infections, both STDs, may increase
risk
Poor women may be at higher risk because they are not able to
afford regular pap smears. Worldwide, cervical cancer is the
third most common type of cancer in women. It is much less common
in the US, where it has been declining. This is due almost entirely
to the use of the Pap smear, which has reduced the death rate
from this disease by 70% since it was introduced in 1941. Yet
according to the American Cancer Society, 12,800 women were
diagnosed with cervical cancer in the year 2000, and there were
4,600 deaths from this disease.
Symptoms
Precancerous
changes of the cervix usually do not cause pain. In fact,
they generally do not cause any symptoms and are not detected
unless a woman has a pelvic exam and a Pap test.
Symptoms
usually do not appear until abnormal cervical cells become cancerous
and invade nearby tissue. When this happens, the most common
symptom is abnormal bleeding. Bleeding may start and stop between
regular menstrual periods, or it may occur after sexual intercourse,
douching, or a pelvic exam. Menstrual bleeding may last longer
and be heavier than usual. Bleeding after menopause also may
be a symptom of cervical cancer. Increased vaginal discharge
is another symptom of cervical cancer.
These symptoms
may be caused by cancer or by other health problems. Only a
doctor can tell for sure. It is important for a woman to see
her doctor if she is having any of these symptoms.
Can
Cervical Cancer Be Prevented?
Many
cases can be prevented! The vast majority of cervical cancers
can be prevented. Since the most common form of cervical cancer
starts with preventable and easily detectable precancerous changes,
there are two ways to prevent this disease.
Learn
about Gardasil® - A Vaccine to Wipe out Cervical Cancer?
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