Important Information on Cervical Cancer
At some point in their lives, some females are found to be diagnosed with cervical cancer. Cervical cancer causes tumor formation in the cervical region that may get aggravated to develop into malignancies. The lowest narrow part of the uterus is called the cervix. It is the cylindrical portion primarily composed of fibromuscular tissue.
Cervix is demarcated to have two distinct regions, namely the ectocervix and the endocervix. The organ mainly takes part during parturition where the overlapping borders dilate for the baby to pass through.
Cervical cancer may advance into malignant cancer where the cancerous cells invade to spread (metastasis) to the surrounding cells, affecting other organs like lungs, liver, vagina, bladder, and the rectum.
- Squamous cell cancer, which is predominant among 90% to 80% of women. This cancer generally causes an unhealthy growth of the outlined cells of the cervix.
- Adenocarcinoma, which is rare, affecting only 20% to 10% of females. This affects the glandular cell that lines the lower portion of the birth canal.
- Another situation of cancer may arise at the junction where the squamous and the glandular cells meet.
Causes of cervical cancer
Cervical cancer is caused by an abnormal proliferation of the cervical cells.
- Infection can be regarded as one of the pertinent causes of cervical cancer. This occurs due to the human papillomavirus. There are various strains of HPV virus that affect the skin and genital warts. There are genetic transformations that the HPV brings about that mutate the normal cell machinery. The HPV is found to produce two proteins, E7 and E6 that interfere with the function of the tumor suppressor genes.
- Excessive smoking is regarded to be among the causes liable to produce some of the genetic alterations. Tobacco is found to have a greater affinity towards cervical cells that makes the cigarette smokers four-folds more prone to develop cervical cancer.
- It also affects women mating with multiple partners as it is a common way of spreading the virus.
- Over intake of contraceptive pills for years can also cause cervical cancer.
Symptoms of cervical cancer
Cervical cancer is recognized to have no initial symptoms, which become more pronounced as cancer progresses. Some symptoms are as follows:
- Abnormal bleeding from the vaginal parts.
- There may be a pelvic pain during the advanced stages.
- Cervical cancer may be accompanied with abnormal discharge from the vagina.
- There may be an obstruction in the bowel and urinary tract.
- It may aggravate to cause kidney failure.
Treatment for cervical cancer
There are many treatment procedures to curb cervical cancer. Some of these are as follows:
- The early stage cervical tumors can be cured easily through a surgical procedure where the uterus is permanently removed through a hysterectomy.
- It can also be treated using the radiation therapy where the high-energized proton or X-ray beam causes to stop the cancerous cell from growing. It may be used before the surgery to reduce the size of the tumor.
- Lastly, chemotherapy can be a way to kill the cancerous cells. This therapy is injected directly into the vein to seek a quick response.