Cervical cancer kills around 4,000 women each year, with 10,000 more women receiving a diagnosis of cervical cancer every year in the United States, according to 2009 data provided by MayoClinic.com. Because early cervical cancer symptoms are mild, many cases are not diagnosed until the cancer is difficult to treat. Regular testing helps diagnose cervical cancer very early, before symptoms become obvious. Early cervical cancer diagnosis leads to successful treatment.The Pap test, also known as the Pap smear, is the test most commonly used to diagnose cervical cancer.
Causes of Cervical Cancer
Infection with human papillomavirus type 6, 18, 31, 33, 35, or 39, among others, causes cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, or CIN, which then develops into cervical cancer if not treated, the Merck Manual states. Risk factors for human papillomavirus, or HPV, include having sex at a young age, having multiple partners and having sex with men whose previous partners had cervical cancer. Cigarette smokers and people with immune deficiency diseases also have an increased risk, according to Merck.
Significance
The Pap test diagnoses cervical changes before they turn into cancer. Cervical cancer is the third most common gynecological cancer and the eighth most common cancer in women in the United States, according to the Merck Manual. Cervical cancer diagnosed in early stages has an 80 to 90 percent cure rate, while the Stage 4 survival rate ranges from 0 to 15 percent, Merck states.
Screening Schedule
Pap smears should be part of gynecological exams starting at age 21 or three years after becoming sexually active, MayoClinic.com states. Pap smears are done every 2 years, although women who have had three normal pap smears in a row and are over age 30 can consider having the tests every three years, the Department of Health and Human Services advises. Women over age 65 may be able to stop having the test. Around 50 percent of women diagnosed with cervical cancer have not had a pap smear in ten years or more, warns Merck.
Procedure
To do the Pap test, a medical practitioner removes a few cells from the surface of the cervix with a small sterile stick or brush. Cells are placed on a glass slide and sent to the laboratory to be checked for abnormal cells. A pap test takes only a few minutes to perform.
Results
Pap test results are reported as normal or abnormal, with abnormal results broken down into categories called stages, the American Cancer Society explains. Stages describe three factors: the extent of the tumor, designated by the letter T; whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, designated N; and whether the cancer has spread, or metastasized, designated by the letter N. The numbers 0 to 4 further describe the degree of cancer; a cancer staged as T3 N2, M1 is more extensive than a cancer described as T1, N0, M0, for example.
