{"id":6212,"date":"2018-01-04T12:00:42","date_gmt":"2018-01-04T11:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wco.pl\/?page_id=6212"},"modified":"2020-11-08T17:30:26","modified_gmt":"2020-11-08T16:30:26","slug":"cervical-cancer","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wco.pl\/en\/for-patients\/most-common-cancer-types\/cervical-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Cervical cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cervical cancer<\/h2>\n
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION<\/a><\/div>\t
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Background information<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cervical cancer is a common malignancy of woman\u2019s reproductive organ that develops in the cervix of the uterus. The uterus is composed of smooth muscle tissue and consists of the uterine body which is located inside the pelvis and is the location where pregnancy develops, and the cervix uteri located partially in the vagina.<\/p>\n

The role of the cervix is to hold the developing pregnancy inside the uterus by tightly closing the cervical canal. During labour, the cervical canal opens and becomes much wider. In periods other than pregnancy, the narrow canal of the cervix forms a passage for sperm, protects against infections, helps remove menstrual blood, and contractions of the cervix to women\u2019s feeling of orgasm.<\/p>\n

Cervical cancer develops mainly in its outermost part, located in the vagina, referred to as ectocervix. It forms a border between two types of epithelium: glandular epithelium that lines the cavity and canal of the cervix and the squamous epithelium that covers the vaginal part of the cervix and the vagina. It is in that particular site, known as transformation zone, that CC develops. Cancer is essentially caused by genetic mutations or changes at the DNA (gene) level. The information contained in DNA determines, among others, the structure of a cell, its functions and interactions with other cells. Changes at the DNA level cause the mutated cell to stop cooperating with other, healthy cells, stop performing its functions and escape the close control of the organism. Being out of control, the mutated cells start growing exponentially to create a tumour, invade and destroy neighbouring tissue and form metastases (develop new foci of cancer away of its original site).<\/p>\n

Cervical cancer develops due to prior human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. The neoplastic process is preceded by cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) formerly referred to as cervical dysplasia or preinvasive cancer. CIN may progress into invasive cancer; therefore, it is very important to detect those changes at an early stage by a cervical screening test.\t\t<\/div>\t<\/div><\/div>\n

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STATISTICS<\/a><\/div>\t
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Statistics<\/strong><\/p>\n

The CC incidence in Poland is at an average level as compared to other countries. In 2011, 3,078 new cases were diagnosed and 1,735 deaths recorded. Women below 20 years of age rarely develop that type of cancer, but the incidence grows with age. Cervical cancer occurs most often in middle-aged women (45-65 years), who account for 50% of all women affected by CC.\t\t<\/div>\t<\/div><\/div>\n

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CLINICAL PICTURE<\/a><\/div>\t
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Clinical picture<\/strong><\/p>\n

At early stages, CC does not usually cause any noticeable symptoms. Therefore, it is so important to have regular gynaecological exams combined with cervical screening tests.<\/p>\n

It takes from three to ten years for cervical cancer to develop from a precancerous condition. Most women with precancerous changes do not have any characteristic symptoms.<\/p>\n

Symptoms reported by patients are of a non-specific nature:<\/p>\n