cervical cancer

Examples of cervical cancer in the following topics:

• Cervical Cancer

  • Cervical cancer is a cancer that originates in the cervix of a female.
  • Cervical cancer is the term for a malignant neoplasm arising from cells originating in the cervix uteri.
  • The early stages of cervical cancer may be completely asymptomatic.
  • In developed countries, the widespread use of cervical screening programs has reduced the incidence of invasive cervical cancer by 50% or more.
  • While the pap smear is an effective screening test, confirmation of the diagnosis of cervical cancer or pre-cancer requires a biopsy of the cervix.

• Papanicolaou Test

  • The Pap smear is a test used to determine the health of the cervical canal and is an important test in cancer prevention.
  • Changes can be treated, thus preventing cervical cancer.
  • HPV (Human Papiloma Virus) causes cervical cancer.
  • The test remains an effective, widely used method for early detection of pre-cancer and cervical cancer.
  • A regular program of pap smear screening, with appropriate follow-up, can reduce cervical cancer incidence by up to 80%.

• Human Papillomavirus (HPV)

  • HPV infection is a cause of nearly all cases of cervical cancer.
  • In more developed countries, cervical screening using a Papanicolaou (Pap) test or liquid-based cytology is used to detect abnormal cells that may develop into cancer.
  • Treating abnormal cells in this way can prevent them from developing into cervical cancer.
  • Cervical cancer has substantial mortality in resource-poor areas; worldwide, there are an estimated 490,000 cases and 270,000 deaths each year.
  • HPV vaccines (Cervarix and Gardasil), which prevent infection with the HPV types (16 and 18) that cause 70% of cervical cancer, may lead to further decreases.

• DNA Oncogenic Viruses

  • An estimated 15 percent of all human cancers worldwide may be attributed to viruses.
  • There are two classes of cancer viruses: DNA and RNA viruses.
  • Several viruses have been linked to certain types of cancer in humans.
  • Human papilloma viruses have been linked to cervical cancer.
  • Human papilloma virus is strongly linked to the development of cervical cancer among other types of cancers.

• Cancer Immunology

  • Cancer immunology examines the interaction between cancer cells and the immune system.
  • Cancer immunology is the study of interactions between the immune system and cancer cells (also called tumors or malignancies).
  • Various strains of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) have recently been found to play an important role in the development of cervical cancer.
  • Although these strains of HPV have not been found in all cervical cancers, they have been found to be the cause in roughly 70% of cases.
  • The study of these viruses and their role in the development of various cancers is still continuing; however, a vaccine has been developed that can prevent infection of certain HPV strains, and thus prevent those HPV strains from causing cervical cancer, and possibly other cancers as well.

• Development of New Vaccines

  • New vaccines are being developed to control recent infectious disease epidemics and cancers.
  • Among the illnesses targeted are rotavirus diarrhea, pneumococcal disease, and cervical cancer (as caused by human papillomavirus), which together kill more than a million people each year, most of them in developing countries.
  • Gardasil is a human papillomavirus vaccine on the market and it protects against HPV-16 and HPV-18 which cause 70% of cervical cancers, 80% of anal cancers, 60% of vaginal cancers, and 40% of vulvar cancers.

• Effects of Smoking

  • Figure 1 shows the correlation between smoking and lung cancer.
  • Tobacco use leads most commonly to diseases affecting the heart and lungs, with smoking being a major risk factor for heart attacks, strokes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (including emphysema and chronic bronchitis), and cancer (particularly lung cancer, cancers of the larynx and mouth, and pancreatic cancer).
  • The primary risks of tobacco usage include many forms of cancer, particularly lung cancer, kidney cancer, cancer of the larynx and head and neck, breast cancer, bladder cancer, cancer of the esophagus, cancer of the pancreas, and stomach cancer.
  • There is some evidence suggesting a small increased risk of myeloid leukemia, squamous cell sinonasal cancer, liver cancer, colorectal cancer, cancers of the gallbladder, the adrenal gland, the small intestine, and various childhood cancers.
  • Recent studies have established a stronger relationship between tobacco smoke, including secondhand smoke, and cervical cancer in women.

• Hysterectomy

  • Certain types of reproductive system cancers (uterine, cervical, ovarian, endometrium) or tumors, including uterine fibroids that do not respond to more conservative treatment options.
  • Prophylaxis against certain reproductive system cancers, especially if there is a strong family history of reproductive system cancers (especially breast cancer in conjunction with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation), or as part of recovery from such cancers.
  • The principal disadvantage is that risk of cervical cancer is not eliminated and women may continue cyclical bleeding (although substantially less than before the surgery).
  • Supracervical hysterectomy does not eliminate the possibility of having cervical cancer since the cervix itself is left intact and may be contraindicated in women with increased risk of this cancer.
  • For this reason, regular Pap smears to check for cervical dysplasia or cancer are still needed.

• Laryngitis and Cancer of the Larynx

  • Laryngeal cancer may also be called cancer of the larynx or laryngeal carcinoma.
  • Most laryngeal cancers originate in the glottis.
  • Laryngeal cancer may spread by direct extension to adjacent structures, by metastasis to regional cervical lymph nodes, or more distantly, through the blood stream.
  • The neck and supraclavicular fossa are palpated to feel for cervical adenopathy, other masses, and laryngeal crepitus.
  • This provides histological proof of cancer type and grade.

• Cervical Plexus

  • The cervical plexus is the plexus of the ventral rami of the first four cervical spinal nerves.
  • The cervical plexus is a plexus of the ventral rami of the first four cervical spinal nerves located from the C1 to C4 cervical segment in the neck.
  • Nerves formed from the cervical plexus innervate the back of the head, as well as some neck muscles.
  • The cervical plexus has two types of branches: cutaneous and muscular.
  • The transverse cervical nerve (superficial cervical or cutaneous cervical) arises from the second and third cervical nerves, turns around the posterior border of the sternocleidomastoideus about its middle, then passes obliquely forward beneath the external jugular vein to the anterior border of the muscle, where it perforates the deep cervical fascia and divides beneath the platysma into ascending and descending branches that are distributed to the antero-lateral parts of the neck.