Cancer of the cervix was once the most common type of cancer in women. Today, better testing that helps doctors detect changes in the cervix before cancer develops has made cervical cancer less common. In 2008, invasive cancer of the cervix will be diagnosed in approximately 11,070 women in the United States, according to American Cancer Society estimates. The disease occurs most often in women over 40.
Because the cervix is part of the female reproductive tract, cervical cancer affects women only. The word "cervix" is derived from a Latin word for "neck." The cervix is the narrow section of the uterus that opens into the vagina, like the neck of a bottle. The uterus is the part of the female reproductive tract that shelters and nourishes a fetus (baby) before birth. The baby passes through the cervix and its opening into the vagina as part of birth.
Cervical cancer appears when abnormal cells on the surface of the cervix reproduce without stopping and become cancerous. The cancerous cells spread deeper into the cervix or to other tissues and/or organs. Cancer of the cervix is different from cancer that begins in other parts of the uterus, and it requires different treatment. Most cervical cancers are squamous cell carcinomas and adenocarcinomas.
The exact causes of cervical cancer are not known. Risk factors that have been suggested as possible causes include infection with human papillomavirus (HPV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), or the common sexually transmitted disease chlamydia; smoking; older age; having first sexual intercourse before age 18; and having many sexual partners, or having sexual partners who have had their first sexual intercourse young and/or have had many sexual partners themselves.
This content has been reviewed and approved by Myo Thant, MD.