The cervix is the neck of the womb or uterus. According to 2008 information from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, there are over 12,000 new cervical cancer cases a year in the United States, with the majority having human papilloma virus present. Pre-cancerous cervical changes can be detected through screening.
Screening
The cervix can have cell changes, which can be detected through screening. A paper published in the "British Medical Journal" in July 2009 showed that screening reduced the incidence of cervical cancer by 60 percent in women over the age of 40 years. Screening, however, is never 100 percent.
Pap Screening
The Pap test involves a sample of cells from the cervix being removed and treated with a special stain. The stain allows a doctor to study the cells under a microscope. The cells can then be determined as normal, pre-cancerous or cancerous.
HPV screening
A number of human papilloma viruses cause cervical cancer. A study in the 2010 April issue of the "British Medical Journal" suggests that screening for the human papilloma virus is more sensitive than Pap screening.
References
- "British Medical Journal"; Effectiveness of Cervical Screening with Age: Population Based Case Control Study of Prospectively Recorded Data; Sasieni P, et al; July 2009
- "British Medical Journal"; Rate of Cervical Cancer, Severe Intraepithelial Neoplasia, and Adenocarcinoma in situ in Primary HPV-DNA Screening with Cytology Triage: Randomised Study Within Organised Screening Programme; Anttila A., et al; April 2010
- Centers of Disease Control and Prevention
