Authors

Mª del Puerto García Anaya

Position

Especialista en Obstetricia y Ginecología.

Contact email: puerto1944@hotmail.com

Abstract

Worldwide, cervical cancer is the second most common malignancy in females. Annual incidence is about 500,000 new cases, with 79% of them occurring in developing countries. Cervical cancer is the most common malignancy in developing countries, with an associated mortality close to 233,000 cases per year. Main risk factors for cervical cancer are: early sexual activity, multiple sexual partners, low socioeconomic status, infections (HPV and HSV), cigarette smoking, and use of ICs.
Human papillomavirus (HPV), a common sexually transmitted infection, is associated to cervical cancer; in fact, about 70% of cervical cancers are due to HPV 16 and 18. These are the oncogenic HPV serotypes, and their presence is necessary for pre-cancerous lesion development and tumor progression in the cervix region.
Until now, the reduction of cervical cancer mortality has been achieved by means of screening programs. Nowadays, primary prevention with the development of a vaccine against HPV has been added to preventive measures.
A good organization and implementation of public health education and population screening programs results in a substantially reduced incidence of invasive lesions and cervical cancer mortality. This is a suitable field for midwives and nurses to provide health care in primary care.

Keywords:

cervical cancer; epidemiology (incidence-mortality-survival); prevention; early detection; public health education; health care providers (midwives-nurses)

Versión en Español

Título:

Cribado de patología cervical. Vacunación VPH

Bibliography