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Table of Contents Overview of Prevention
Cervical Cancer Prevention
Get More Information From NCI
Changes to This Summary (09/21/2007)
Questions or Comments About This Summary
About PDQ
Overview of Prevention
Prevention
Doctors cannot always explain why one person gets cancer and another doesn’t.
However, scientists have studied general patterns of cancer in the population
to learn what things around us and what things we do in our lives may increase
our chance of developing cancer.
Anything that increases a person’s chance of developing a disease is called a risk factor; anything that decreases a person’s chance of developing a disease
is called a protective factor. Some of the risk factors for cancer can be
avoided, but many cannot. For example, although you can choose to quit
smoking, you cannot choose which genes you have inherited from your parents.
Both smoking and inheriting specific genes could be considered risk factors for
certain kinds of cancer, but only smoking can be avoided. Prevention means
avoiding the risk factors and increasing the protective factors that can be
controlled so that the chance of developing cancer decreases.
Although many risk factors can be avoided, it is important to keep in mind that
avoiding risk factors does not guarantee that you will not get cancer. Also,
most people with a particular risk factor for cancer do not actually get the
disease. Some people are more sensitive than others are to factors that can cause
cancer. Talk to your doctor about methods of preventing cancer that might be
effective for you.
Purposes of this summary
The purposes of this summary on cervical cancer prevention are to
- Give information on cervical cancer and how often it occurs.
- Describe cervical cancer prevention methods.
- Give current facts about which people or groups of people would most likely
be helped by following cervical cancer prevention methods.
You can talk to your doctor or health care professional about cancer prevention
methods and whether they would be likely to help you.
Back to Top Cervical Cancer Prevention
The uterine cervix is the lower, narrow part of the uterus (womb) that connects
the uterus with the vagina. It is part of the female reproductive system.
Cervical cancer usually develops slowly over time. Before cancer
appears in the cervix, the cells of
the cervix go through changes known as dysplasia, in which abnormal cells
begin to appear in the cervical tissue. Later, cancer cells start to grow and
spread more deeply into the cervix and to surrounding areas.
Significance of cervical cancer
Thanks to widespread screening with the Pap test (Pap smear), the number of deaths
due to cervical cancer has been decreasing.
Screening tests have risks, however (refer to the PDQ summary on Screening for Cervical Cancer); prevention of cervical cancer may offer fewer risks and more benefits.
Cervical cancer prevention
Many cases of cervical cancer are associated with known risk factors for the
disease.
Some of the risk factors cannot be avoided, but many can.
HPV Infection:
Cervical infection with HPV is
the primary risk factor for cervical cancer. There are over 80 types of human papillomavirus (HPV). Approximately 30
types are transmitted sexually (passed from one person to another by sexual contact) and can infect the cervix. About half of
these have been linked to cervical cancer. However, HPV infection is
very common and only a very small number of women infected with
untreated HPV will develop cervical cancer. A vaccine to prevent infection with the two types of HPV that cause approximately 70 percent of cervical cancers, and the two types of HPV that cause 90 percent of genital warts, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and other vaccines are under study. The approved vaccine provides protection against infection with these HPV types for at least five years. How much longer the protection lasts is under study.
Sexual History: HPV infections that cause cervical cancer are spread mainly through sexual contact. Women who begin having sexual intercourse at an early age
and women who have had many sexual partners are at a greater risk of HPV
infection and developing cervical cancer. Some methods used to prevent
sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) reduce the risk of cervical cancer. The use of barrier methods of birth control and/or gels that kill sperm offer some protection but do not completely protect against STDs.
Reproductive History: Having a high number of full-term pregnancies (7 or more) increases the risk of cervical cancer.
Use of Oral Contraceptives: Long-term use of oral contraceptives (5 years or more) increases the risk of cervical cancer.
Screening History:
Receiving regular gynecological exams and Pap tests helps to
prevent cervical cancer. Abnormal changes in the cervix can be
detected (found) by the Pap test and treated before cancer develops.
Women who do not regularly have Pap tests have an increased risk
of cervical cancer.
Smoking:
Cigarette smoking is associated with an increased risk of cervical
cancer.
Diet:
Several studies have suggested that certain micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) may reduce the risk of cervical cancer, but this has not been proven.
Knowing the risk factors for cervical cancer can help you avoid them.
Back to Top Get More Information From NCI
Call 1-800-4-CANCER
For more information, U.S. residents may call the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) Cancer Information Service toll-free at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237) Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Deaf and hard-of-hearing callers with TTY equipment may call 1-800-332-8615. The call is free and a trained Cancer Information Specialist is available to answer your questions.
Chat online
The NCI's LiveHelp® online chat service provides Internet users with the ability to chat online with an Information Specialist. The service is available from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday. Information Specialists can help Internet users find information on NCI Web sites and answer questions about cancer.
Write to us
For more information from the NCI, please write to this address:
- NCI Public Inquiries Office
- Suite 3036A
- 6116 Executive Boulevard, MSC8322
- Bethesda, MD 20892-8322
Search the NCI Web site
The NCI Web site provides online access to information on cancer, clinical trials, and other Web sites and organizations that offer support and resources for cancer patients and their families. For a quick search, use our “Best Bets” search box in the upper right hand corner of each Web page. The results that are most closely related to your search term will be listed as Best Bets at the top of the list of search results.
There are also many other places to get materials and information about cancer treatment and services. Hospitals in your area may have information about local and regional agencies that have information on finances, getting to and from treatment, receiving care at home, and dealing with problems related to cancer treatment.
Find Publications
The NCI has booklets and other materials for patients, health professionals, and the public. These publications discuss types of cancer, methods of cancer treatment, coping with cancer, and clinical trials. Some publications provide information on tests for cancer, cancer causes and prevention, cancer statistics, and NCI research activities. NCI materials on these and other topics may be ordered online or printed directly from the NCI Publications Locator. These materials can also be ordered by telephone from the Cancer Information Service toll-free at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237), TTY at 1-800-332-8615.
Back to Top Changes to This Summary (09/21/2007)
The PDQ cancer information summaries are reviewed regularly and updated as
new information becomes available. This section describes the latest
changes made to this summary as of the date above.
Editorial changes were made to this summary.
Back to Top Questions or Comments About This Summary
If you have questions or comments about this summary, please send them to Cancer.gov through the Web site’s Contact Form. We can respond only to email messages written in English.
Back to Top About PDQ
PDQ is a comprehensive cancer database available on NCI's Web site.
PDQ is the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) comprehensive cancer information database. Most of the information contained in PDQ is available online at NCI's Web site. PDQ is provided as a service of the NCI. The NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health, the federal government's focal point for biomedical research.
PDQ contains cancer information summaries.
The PDQ database contains summaries of the latest published information on cancer prevention, detection, genetics, treatment, supportive care, and complementary and alternative medicine. Most summaries are available in two versions. The health professional versions provide detailed information written in technical language. The patient versions are written in easy-to-understand, nontechnical language. Both versions provide current and accurate cancer information.
The PDQ cancer information summaries are developed by cancer experts and reviewed regularly.
Editorial Boards made up of experts in oncology and related specialties are responsible for writing and maintaining the cancer information summaries. The summaries are reviewed regularly and changes are made as new information becomes available. The date on each summary ("Date Last Modified") indicates the time of the most recent change.
PDQ also contains information on clinical trials.
A clinical trial is a study to answer a scientific question, such as whether a certain drug or nutrient can prevent cancer. Trials are based on past studies and what has been learned in the laboratory. Each trial answers certain scientific questions in order to find new and better ways to help cancer patients and those who are at risk for cancer. During prevention clinical trials, information is collected about the effects of a new prevention method and how well it works. If a clinical trial shows that a new method is better than one currently being used, the new method may become "standard." People who are at high risk for a certain type of cancer may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial.
Listings of clinical trials are included in PDQ and are available online at NCI's Web site. Descriptions of the trials are available in health professional and patient versions. Many cancer doctors who take part in clinical trials are also listed in PDQ. For more information, call the Cancer Information Service 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237); TTY at 1-800-332-8615.
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