Cervical cancer is caused by the cellular anomalies which appear inside the uterine tube. Most of the precancerous cells appear at the cervix level, a zone which suffers constantly periodic modifications (dependent on the terms). During this physiologic process, the cervical cells can suffer different mutations, favoring the appearance of abnormal calls, especially in case of infection with human virus Papiloma (it is a virus with sexual transmission which provokes injuries at the uterine tube’s level and it is considered a big risk for cervical cancer appearance).There are two types of cervical cancer: cervical Aden carcinoma and cervical cancer with foam cells (epidermoid).
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The cells which tapestried the cervix suffer, usually, easy to severe modifications until they become cancerous. These pre-cancerous modifications represent the dysplasia. There are three types if this disease: easy cervical dysplasia, moderate cervical dysplasia and severe cervical dysplasia. Itself, cervical dysplasia is not grave, but it is considered a precancerous phase. If it is not treated, dysplasia may lead to o precocious phase of cancer, also called “carcinoma in situ” and after that it may progress to cervical cancer. The evolution of cervical dysplasia to cancer is made slowly, in a period of 10 years or even more than that.

The symptoms of cervical cancer are not noticeable in the first phase. The cellular modifications inside the cervix are usually not symptomatic, in this incipient stadium the diagnostic is realized basing the result of the Papanicolau test.

Along with the development of the cancerous process other symptoms appear: abnormal vaginal bleeding or terms modifications (menometroragies); cervix bleeding during the sexual contact or in the moment of diaphragm insertion; the feeling of pain during the sexual contact (dispareuny); abnormal vaginal secretion in big quantities and sometimes mixed with thin motes of blood; unjustified tiredness condition. There can even appear fractures.

Advanced cervical cancer has the following symptoms: anemia caused by abnormal loses of blood; pelvic pain (the inferior side of the abdomen), inferior member’s pain or lumbar pain; vaginal fistula (abnormal communication between vagina and rectum, meaning the urinary bladder, so the excrements and the urine are eliminated by vagina) - the fistula appears due to extension of the cancerous process at the level of tissues around); losing weight (more kilograms in some weeks, months).



As we know, it is by far easier to prevent a sickness than to cure it. A lot of human lives can be saved there are respected several simple things: carrying a healthy life (having a diet poor in meet and rich in fruits and vegetables, daily consummation of 2 liters of good and clean water, respecting the resting hours), making sport every day, periodical prosecution of tests (even if we do not have the symptoms of cervical cancer) in order to track down the disease (Babes-Papanicolau and other) – which must begin at maxim 2 or 3 years from the first sexual contact (but not later than 21 years), having the first sexual contact at a proper age and finding a stabile sex partner.

There is a multitude of treatment options for women suffering of cervical cancer. Some treatments are standard (frequently used) and some of them are still tested in clinical studies. Before beginning a treatment, women can consider the possibility of participating in a clinical trial. A cure included into a clinical trial represents a research study which has the purpose to help the improvement of the standard treatments or to obtain information about the new inlaid treatments in the cancer therapy. When a clinical trial proves that a new treatment is better than a standard cure, than the new method can become a standard one.
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Choosing of the more appropriate cervical cancer treatment is a decision that usually involves the patients, their family and the team of doctors.

There are used three types of standard cervical cancer cures: the surgical treatment, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

The surgical treatment is sometimes curative. There are practiced the following surgical procedures: conical biopsy, total hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, radical hysterectomy, pelvic exenteration, cryosurgery, laser vaporization.

Radiotherapy is a cancer treatment which uses Roentgen rays with big energy or another type of rays to destroy the malign cells. There are two types of radiotherapy: the external radiotherapy uses a device which is sending radiations to the cancer; the internal radiotherapy uses a radioactive substance contained in spikes, radiant seeds and wires which are placed right into the cancer or near to it. The irradiation method depends on the type and the stadium of the disease.

Chemotherapy is a cancer cure method which uses pharmaceutical substances to stop the growing of the malign cells. When the chemotherapy is made per bone or by injection in vena or muscle, the substances get in the sanguine circulation and gets to the malign cells from the organism (systematic chemotherapy). When the chemotherapy is made directly into the spinal cord, into an organ or a cavity, the substance affects in the first place the malign cells from the specific zones (regional chemotherapy).

The cervical cancer cures option can be made depending on the cancer’s stage. For stage zero the treatment can include the following procedures: laser surgery, conical biopsy, cryosurgery, total hysterectomy (for women who cannot or don’t want to have babies), internal radiotherapy (for women who don’t support a surgical intervention). The cure for stage I-A can be made of: total hysterectomy with or without bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, conical biopsy, radical hysterectomy and extraction of lymphatic nodules, internal radiotherapy. Stage I-B can be cured by: radiotherapy and chemotherapy, a combination between internal and external radiotherapy, radical hysterectomy and extraction of lymphatic nodules followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Treatment for stage II-A is composed by: radiotherapy and chemotherapy, internal radiotherapy combined with external radiotherapy, radical hysterectomy and removal of lymphatic nodules (followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy). The cure for stages II-B, III and IV-A may include internal and external radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy. Stage IV-B can contain the following procedures: radiotherapy (as palliative treatment) to ameliorate the cancer symptoms and for improving the quality of life, chemotherapy.

The treatment of recurrent cancer may involve pelvic exenteration followed by radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy or chemotherapy (as palliative cure) – applied for amelioration of semeiology and for betterment of life quality.

The cervical cancer cures during the pregnancy depend on the disease’s stage and on the gestation’s phase. In case of cancer in precocious stadiums or in case of cancer discovered in the last trimester of pregnancy, the treatment can be delayed until the mother gives birth to her child.

Cervical cancer is a disease that involves the transformation of normal cells into malign cells (in the cervical texture). The cervix is the lowest and the narrowest part of the uterus. The uterus is an organ situated in the pelvic cavity, having the shape of a pear and in which the foetus incubates. The connection between uterus and vagina is made by the cervix.
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After the cancer is tracked down, some investigations must be performed in order to find out if the cancerous cells are diffused into the cervix or into another part of the body. The information gathered after the investigation decides the stadium of the disease. There are five cervical cancer stages: stage zero, first stage, second stage, third stage and fourth stage.

Stage zero is also called “carcinoma in situ” – the tumour’s cells are detected only in the first cellular stratum of the cervix and they did not reach the profound stratums.

The first stage is limited only by the cervix and it is divided in two stages I-A and I-B, based on the quantity of the malign texture. For the stage I-A we can find in the cervix only o very little part of cancerous texture that can be microscopically observed.  The cancer doesn’t invade the texture more than 5 millimeters in depth and 7 millimeters in surface. For the stage I-B the cancer is localized and it can be only microscopically observed and it is deeper than 5 millimeters and more diffused than 7 millimeters (in surface) or it can be observed without using a microscope and it can be larger than 4 centimeters.

In the case of the second stage, the disease is diffused outside the cervix, but not in the texture of the pelvis. This stage is split into another two stages: stage II-A (the cancer diffuses outside the cervix until it reaches two superior thirds of the vagina, but not the texture of the uterus) and stage II-B (the tumour diffuses outside the cervix until it reaches two superior thirds of the vagina and the texture around the uterus).



In the third stage the illness infests the inferior third of the vagina and it can infest the texture of the pelvis and the lymphatic nodules around. Again, we have stage III-A (the cancer infested the inferior third of the vagina, but not the texture of the pelvis) and stage III-B (the malign cells are diffused into the texture of the pelvis and/or the cancerous formation is as big as it can block the ducts that make the connection between kidneys and the urinary bladder; this blockings may lead to the growth of the kidneys or even to the interruption of their activity; the malign cells can infest the lymphatic nodules from the pelvis).

During the fourth stage the cancer infests the urinary bladder, the rectum or other parts of the human body. We have also stage IV-A (the illness infested the urinary bladder or the texture of the rectum or the lymphatic nodules) and stage IV-B (the tumour diffused outside de pelvis and the lymphatic nodules into another parts of the body, like the abdomen, the liver, the intestinal tract or the lungs).

For a person who has this tumour it is useful to investigate the cervical cancer stages because it is very important to establish the cancer’s stadium for the planning of the correct treatment.