More than half of them presented, however, a negative Pap-smear test less than three years before the diagnosis. The policy for follow-up and treatment of cervical dysplasias has to be improved in order to achieve a further reduction of the incidence of invasive carcinoma. This issue of CA inaugurates a yearly report on American Cancer Society guidelines for early detection of cancer in asymptomatic individuals. A key concept for both the general public and health providers is the distinction between public health recommendations regarding screening and decisions about early detection tests that might be undertaken on an individual basis. Although it is likely that current screening protocols will be supplanted by newer technologies, such as genetic and molecular markers of risk and disease, greater utilization of the technologies at hand will improve efforts toward establishing an organized and systematic approach to early cancer detection.
Cervical cancer is the second most common type of cancer in women worldwide, after breast cancer.
A preponderance of evidence supports a causal link between human papillomavirus infection and cervical neoplasia. The presence of high-risk human papillomavirus genital subtypes increases the risk of malignant transformation. Widespread use of the Papanicolaou smear has dramatically reduced the incidence of cervical cancer in developed countries. Accurate and early recognition of abnormal cytologic changes prevents progression of the disease from preinvasive to invasive. Once cervical cancer is diagnosed, clinical staging takes place.