Cervical Cancer
Cancer of the cervix, or neck of the womb, is diagnosed in
around 2,800 women in the UK each year. As a result of the National
Health Service (NHS) cervical cancer screening programme, this
number is around half of what it was 20 years ago (Cancer Research
UK, February 2009) but it is still the second most common cancer in
women under 35 years old.
In more than 70% of cervical cancer cases, the cause is
infection with one of two strains of HPV (human papilloma virus)
which can now be prevented by immunisation. From autumn 2008 a
vaccine was made freely available by the NHS to every year to 12-
to 13-year-old girls (school year 8). A three-year catch-up
programme also started from in autumn 2008 and will offer the
vaccine to older girls aged 13-18.
Because the HPV vaccine does not protect against all cervical
cancers, it is still important for all women to have cervical
screening later in life. Cervical screening in England is offered
to women over the age of 25.
The two main types of cervical cancer are named after the type
of cell that becomes cancerous. Treatment is the same for both:
- Squamous cell cancer
- Adenocarcinoma
Squamous cells are the flat skin-like cells that cover the outer
surface of the cervix. Squamous cell cancer�is the most common type
of cervical cancer.
Adenomatous Adenocarcinoma develops from the cells are of tiny
glands cells that produce mucus. They are scattered along the
inside of the passageway (cervical canal) that runs from the cervix
to the womb. Adenocarcinoma is a cancer of these gland cells.
Between 1 in 10 and 1 in 20 5 cases of cervical cancer are
adenocarcinoma. It is treated in the same way as squamous cell
cancer of the cervix.
Very rarely, other types of cancer can occur in the cervix.