Cervical cancer is a type of cancer which, even if, just like other types of cancer, it doesn't show any symptoms in its early stages, it can be very easily detected and even prevented by monitoring your condition and undergoing regular Pap tests. Routine screening can detect precancerous conditions, HPV infection or cancer in its first stages. This will give you maximum chances for survival and in the case of precancerous conditions like displasya there are 100% chances for curing it. Pap screenings can detect the cancer before it become invasive but, if diagnosis is confirmed, you'll still have to take some other tests to accurately confirm the diagnosis.
<-336x280 Large Rectangle - center->
A Pap smear uses a spatula or a brush to collect cells from the cervix and then puts them on a slide and sends them for a microscopic analysis. A cytopathologists examines them in a laboratory and then establishes if the cancer or any precancerous cells are present in the sample. The procedure is quite simple and easy to do, erquiring no prior special preparation and you can immediately go home after the sample is taken away.



It gets complicated only if and when the Pap test indicates an abnormality in the tissue and additional tests are needed for a more accurate diagnosis. Tests your doctor may recommend include: ThinPrep Pap test, speculoscopy, Schiller test and colposcopy, colposcopy-directed biopsy, endocervical curretage and cone biopsy.

The ThinPrep Pap Test is an enhanced version of the Pap test and is a liquid based test involving liquid preservation of cervical cells. The difference however won't be felt by a woman undergoing the procedure. Next, speculoscopy is a procedure only recently approved by the FDA and it consists of using a magnifier and special wavelength light to detect abnormalities that the Pap test couldn't detect. The Schiller Test and colposcopy are used together to first apply a solution on the cervix, cover it with iodine and then to examine the cervix with a magnifying instrument called a colposcope. These procedures are both painless and if cancerous cells are detected, call for a biopsy, which means removing tissue to examine under a microscope. This is also called colposcopic directed biopsy and the patient may experience slight discomfort and mild bleeding as a result to the procedure though it is done under anesthetic.

Endocervical curretage is a procedure that usually accompanies the biopsy and it inserts a currete into the endocervix to collect tissue from this region that cannot be seen during a colposcopy.



The cone biopsy is done just like any regular biopsy only it removes a cone shaped piece of the cervix from the area between the endocervix and the ectocervix.

Other procedures that can reduce the need for colposcopy or simply clarify Pap test results include: dilation and curretage and cervicography.

These procedures are all especially aimed at diagnosing cervical cancer. For establishing the stage and the appropriate treatment a series of other tests should be undergone. Your physician will let you know if they are necessary,  at the right time.

Cervical cancer is cancer of the cervix, the passage between the uterus and the vagina. If diagnosed early, cervical cancer and precancerous conditions offer great chances fo survival and can even avoid infertility.
<-336x280 Large Rectangle - center->
Doctors perform biopsy to diagnose the disease. This procedure, also called punch biopsy done to remove cervical tissue for examination and it is normally a part of colposcopy. The colposcopy is the procedure that allows the doctor a more in-depth examination of the cervix. If the colposcopy indicates any abnormalities , small amounts of tissue are taken for biopsy. This later part of the procedure is done with a biopsy forceps or a needle.



An endocervical curretage can also be performed as a type of biopsy. This procedure removes tissue from the endocervical canal and then tests it for cancerous cells.

A cervical biopsy is quite a simple procedure and women who undergo it experience very little pain, more like a slight discomfort. Coughing at the moment of the biopsy might be very effective in alleviating and neutralizing the little shock at the exact moment of extraction.

What can you expect after the procedure? A patient is likely to have cramps immediately after but they will tune down very quickly.
You must be very aware about the importance of the biopsy being as accurate as possible. Early diagnosis is usually the best cure for cancer. It is recommended that patients follow some rules before and after biopsy. Preparing for the biopsy requires you not to have sex or douche two days before the procedure. These activities can interfere with the accuracy of the results. You should also follow all the doctors instructions during the procedure and once it's done all you can do is wait two weeks for the results. They will reveal either no abnormalities of some signs of cancerous cells, usually indicating dysplasia, ranging from a mild form to a moderate or severe cervical cancer.




After the procedure you might also experience some symptoms that can either indicate an infection or a unpredictable result of the intervention. Normal bleeding means slight bleeding for about a week. Until this point you don't have to worry. If the bleeding persists and is heavy you must seek a doctor's attention. If fever occurs and persists you should also immediately report it to your doctor.

To avoid any such complications or others, most oncologist recommend that you don't have sexual intercourse for up to two weeks after the biopsy. Just to be on the safe side, you should also not use tampons in that period. However, risks of taking such actions can vary a lot from patient to patient. The doctor will let you know which your risks factors are.

Cervical dysplasia is characterized by the abnormal growth of cells in the tissue on the surface of the cervix and it can develop into cancerous cells or pre-cancerous cells. Depending of the speed of its development dysplasia can be low-grade, slow or high-grade. The later one in the one that can lead to cervical cancer.  In the lack of appropriate treatment 30% to 50% of the dysplasia cases lead to invasive cancer.
<-336x280 Large Rectangle - center->
Your best chance is having a regular Pap smear as cervical dysplasia usually doesn't show any visible symptoms. However, at times you can encounter different signs that can suggest dysplasia. Such symptoms which can but not necessarily occur are:  genital warts, abnormal bleeding, spotting after intercourse, vaginal discharge and low back pain.



Dysplasia or even just a history of treated dysplasia is most definitely a risk factor for cervical cancer and to give yourself the best chance of treatment you should also start with your periodical Pap screenings no later than 21 years old. Unfortunately even if just one of the members of your family has had dysplasia you are more exposed to the risk of cervical cancer.

Family history of cervical cancer or cervical dysplasia has been suggested so make it more difficult for some women to fight off HPV infection as well as others. Such an inherited vulnerability is one of the major risk factors for developing cervical cancer. HPV is the main purpotraiter in the whole complication and you should know that HPV doesn’t invariably end in cervical cancer. HPV refers to more than 100 types of viruses that can cause genital warts but only some of these can cause cervical cancer and research goes on to show that only two types have been found to cause about half of all cervical cancers, namely HPV16 and HPV18 and still most women infected with these types of viruses don't develop cervical cancer.

Other risk factors present in your condition alongside a family history of dysplasia which should urgently inspire you to seek medical attention are: HIV infection, Chlamydia, genital herpes and smoking. A poor diet can also significantly add to your vulnerability. Women who consume few fruit of vegetables are made even more vulnerable. Lifestyle and nutritional habits play a prominent role in preventing dysplasia or reducing your risk of cervical cancer if you have a family history of dysplasia.



The basic approach when a back ground of dysplasia is present is to eliminate all other factors associated with cervical cancer. Concrete step you should take is quitting smoking and eliminate use of oral contraceptives. A good balanced diet can also be Pap screens also play a leading role and should be repeated once in every three months.

In the UK was started a program against the cervical cancer. This program has 2 main ways to reduce the number of diagnosis of invasive cervical cancer and death caused by the cervical cancer
-HPV vaccination program - for young girls with ages between 12 years old and 18 years old
-NHS cervical screening program – applicable for women with ages between 25 years old and 64 years old, in order to detect and treat early abnormalities of the cervix cells. This program involves 100.000 medical staff doctors, nurses, laboratory staff and 4 million women are screened each year across England territory.
<-336x280 Large Rectangle - center->
Cervical vaccine or HPV vaccine – protects young girls and young women against the Human Papilloma virus the maim cause of the cervical cancer disease. This vaccine save women lives and protects women against the second disease that causes women deaths all over the world. It also saves women of expensive and unpleasant and long time treatment, that have though effects on women body. HPV or Human papilloma virus represents a family of almost 200 different types of virus and is the main cause of producing cervical cancer and besideall that if they don’t produce cancer have unpleasant effects on woman such us: genital warts, plantar warts and common warts. This is a sexual transmitted virus that affects both men and women and most women will be exposed to this virus on their lifetime It also causes other types of cancer, mainly cancers of the vagina, anus, vulva, head and neck. Women should protect themselves from this extremely dangerous virus by taking regular Pap smear test at the age of 21 or 3 years after they started their sexual activity, by using condom during sexual intercourse and general by leading a healthy lifestyle. The doctors created a new vaccine that can protect women of against the Human Papilloma virus types that cause 70% of cervical cancer.
This vaccine is made for:
-for all 11 years and 12 years girls, even for girls of 9 years;
-this vaccine should be done before first sexual contact, but it may still be done by women between 13 years and 26 years who are sexual active;
-the vaccine in recommended for girls and young women with ages between 13 years and 26 years who haven’t been vaccinated before. The decision to vaccinate the women over19 years until 26 years should be taken after discussing with her healthcare practitioner the risk of previous HPV exposure and the benefit of this vaccine.

The vaccine against HPV vaccination is recommended especially for girls and young women who haven’t started the sexual activity, because it means that they haven’t been exposed to HPS virus. The beneficiaries of the maximum efficiency of the vaccine are girls and women who have never been infected with the Human Papilloma virus. The women who are sexual active may beneficiate of the vaccine, but they may get less benefit from the vaccine, because the already might been exposed or infected with one or more types of HPV covered by the vaccine. The vaccine is given into the arm or thigh 3 times:  at the first visit, two months after and 4 months after the second time. The studies made until now on the new vaccine against the cervical cancer show that is extremely safe, doesn’t contain any live viruses and the side effect may be: redness and soreness on the place where the shot has been made, headaches, fever. This vaccine will be studied and monitored to see if it may cause other side effects.

Jade Goody was a young reality TV woman who became famous during the third series of Big Brother in 2002 in England by revealing startling lack of general knowledge. She was born on 5 June 1981 in England. After her participation to the Big Brother show, Jade Goody remained in the attention of the public in the newspapers and glossy magazines and took part to a series of “fly on the wall” programs. In 2007, she caught the attention of the public being accused of racism and bulling against the Bollywood famous actress Shilpa Shetty. Another subject that provided very often material for the English tabloid newspapers was her stormy relationship with the TV presenter and fellow reality star Jeff Brazier.  Their relationship lasted two years and Goody gave birth of two baby boys Bobby of 5 years and Freddie of 4 years.
<-336x280 Large Rectangle - center->
In August 2008, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in stage 4. The case of the young women was widely publicized through her struggle with the cervical cancer. In February 2009 she got another hit from this cruel disease, the doctors told her that the cervical cancer has spread and affected her liver and bowel. Jane Goody has metastatic, the cancer spread from the cervix, form where it first started and spread to other parts of the body. Sometimes the metastatic cancer can be controlled to prolong the life of the patient, but is almost impossible to get free, to become healthy from this disease.

The studies show that, only 15%  to 30% of the women diagnosed with cervical cancer in stage 4 will live longer than 5 years. The metastatic cervical cancer affects in different ways  the body of each woman. Sometimes chemotherapy may be affective, sometimes radiotherapy may be affective and in other cases the surgery can be helpful. Jane Goody attended in 2007 the Pink Ice Ball Cancer Research. On 22 march 2009 she died after a intense struggle with the cervical cancer. She died at her home in Upshire, Essex at 3.14 a.m. after 2 days of coma. She had her mother beside her, her boyfriend and a family friend. The England Prime Minister, Gordon Brown stated that he is deeply saddened and he described Jade Goody as a courageous woman. Jade Goody wanted to fire a warning on the extreme consequences of the cervical cancer and since she was diagnosed with this disease she wanted to involve the media to set an example.
Jade Goody public diagnose led many women to find out more information about the cervical cancer: causes, symptoms, stages, treatments, etc. Because of this unfortunate case many women went to the doctor and attended the screening program and done the Pap smear test. This is a tragic and unfortunate case, Jade Goody a young women with a bright future in front of her and two young children of 5 years and 4 years dies because of this cruel disease. Maybe many women who find out about her case should fallow a simple rule in order to prevent those unfortunate cases to happen: go to the doctor for a Pap smear test or a screening. Everybody will remind her as being a young, beautiful, brave and strong women, who wanted to fire a warning about the merciless condition called cervical cancer.

The cervix is the lowest part of the uterus, forms an opening between the uterus and the vagina. The causes of the cervical cancer are: smoking, early start of the sexual activity, multiple sexual partners, the use of the oral contraceptive for a longer period of 5 years, compromised immune system, especially women with HIV. The main cause of the cervical cancer is represented by the human papilloma virus. Human papilloma virus is a sexual transmitted virus. People may by infected with this virus without knowing, because they don’t present any symptoms. Human papilloma virus is classified in 200 types, some of the viruses types may cause warts and disappear without any treatment, but other viruses types may lead to cancers of the cervix, vulva and anus.
<-336x280 Large Rectangle - center->
Human papilloma virus is considered to be the most   common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. In many cases human papilloma virus disappear on its own, but if it doesn’t disappear it causes changes of the cervix cells. The Pap smear test is the most accurate test that may diagnose the abnormality of the cells before they turn into cervical cancer. The Pap smear test is simple test that can be done in the doctor’s office. It is a simple procedure done by the doctor or a nurse by removing cells from the area of the cervix to be tested at the medical lab for any abnormality of the cells. In some cases, the cervix cells in a woman may change and became abnormal. The abnormal form of the cells may not be cancerous, yet. But, left untreated they may transform into cancer cells.

All the doctors advise women to do regularly the Pap smear test in order to diagnose the cervical cancer in early stages and to increase the chances of healing more easily. The Pap smear test detect all the changes caused by human papilloma virus to the cells of the cervix. The Pap smear test doesn’t detect many sexually transmitted diseases. Before you go to the doctor and do the Pap smear test you should know a few things: don’t douche 24 hours before, don’t use vaginal medicines or creams. This procedure cannot be done if you are in the period time. After this procedure the cells from the cervix are send to a medical lab for investigations and the result of the procedure will come back in 1 or 2 weeks.
The result of the Pap smear test may be:
-normal or negative (witch means that the cervix cells are normal)
-abnormal or positive (it doesn’t necessary mean that you have cancer, it means that the doctor should do more tests that will reveal if the abnormality of the cells is cancer or not).
The Pap smear test should be done at 3 years after starting the sexual life or at 21 years old, or 1 or 3 year after the age of 35. The women should stop doing the Pap smear test after the age of 65 or if they had a total hysterectomy and had both uterus and cervix removed. The Pap smear test is not expensive, in some cases this procedure is free or low cost. Every women should realize the importance of the Pap smear test, it is an extremely important, not painful procedure that may do the difference between severe disease and health, or between life and death. Listen to the doctors advice and do the Pap smear test regularly.

Many people are terrified when they hear about cervical cancer. From my point of view, the state institutions, the health organizations, the hospitals should advertise more materials through witch the women to find out useful information and statistic about the cervical cancer. They should be informed on any aspect regarding the cervical cancer: causes, signs and symptoms, diagnosis, stages, traditional treatment, alternative treatment, prevention, statistics and so on. In order to prevent and prevent the death of a woman at each 2 minutes the women should be informed about how to prevent this disease. The doctors should advise women to do the Pap smear test as regular as necessary from two main reasons: first, to diagnose the disease and second, if you do the test at least once a year the disease will be diagnosed in early stages. As soon as you diagnose the cervical cancer as much chances of fully recovery there are. It is very important to diagnose in early stages.
<-336x280 Large Rectangle - center->
Carcinoma in situ (CIS) represents an early stage of the cervical cancer characterized by the absence of invasion of surrounding tissues of the cervix. Meaning, the neoplastic cells multiply in their normal habitat, as the name tells it all "in situ" is translated in English as "in its place". Because of that carcinoma in situ doesn’t usually form a tumor, usually it forms a flat wound in the cervix, or develops as the form of the cervix, but there are cases when the carcinoma in situ forms tumor.
A common form of cancer is the invasive carcinoma originated by a carcinoma in situ lesion, because of that carcinoma in situ is considered to be a precursor or incipient form of cancer, that’s the reason why, if is left untreated for a long period of time may degenerate in a malignant neoplasm. Because of the big potential of carcinoma in situ to become an invasive carcinoma, the doctors recommend the patients to remove it completely. The carcinoma in situ is treated usually as a malignant tumor.

Carcinoma in situ is considered to be stage 0 in the evolution of cervical cancer.
When we talk about cervical cancer and cancer in general we first have to talk about 3 steps towards the cancer witch are:
-Dysplasia - is the first form of abnormal cells recognizable in a biopsy. Dysplasia can be divided in low grade dysplasia or high grade dysplasia. The risk of low-grade dysplasia to transform into cancer is low.
-Carcinoma in situ – is the same thing as high-grade dysplasia in most organs that it affects. It is a high risk of transforming into cancer if is left untreated.
-Invasive carcinoma -  is considered to be cancer, is the most advanced stage in this sequence If left untreated will invade the cervix and even cause death.
The cervical cancer is in many cases caused by cervical squamous intraepithelial lesion The term carcinoma in situ is used for the cervix and cervical cancer, but the term advanced stage of squamous intraepithelial lesion is used as synonym. This lesion is detected with the Pap smear test. The best and more of the used treatment for carcinoma in situ is the removal. The removal is the best way to stop developing it into cancer.

You will find that cervical cancer and heredity have no link whatsoever.I hope this will explain and answer some of your questions regarding this subject.

Cervical cancer: do you avoid it? Cancer of the cervix is particularly common. There are preventive measures you need to know and respect. What should you know about this other female cancer?
Gardasil ®, a vaccine against cancer of the cervix
<-336x280 Large Rectangle - center->
1) Cancer of the cervix is caused by a virus.
True.

Cervical cancers are caused by viruses belonging to the family of human papillomavirus (HPV).

2) Women who had their first intercourse very young and with multiple partners are at increased risk of cancer of the cervix.
True.

The reason is that some HPV, sexually transmitted diseases, causing damage that could degenerate if they are not treated. Hence the need to regularly visit a gynecologist to make smears and possibly HPV testing.

3) There is a specific test for cervical cancer screening.
True.

More precisely, there is a specific test to detect HPV most commonly implicated in cervical cancer, HPV testing and called. It is most often done as a result of a smear suggestive of abnormal cells.

4) A single Pap smear can eliminate the risk of cervical cancer.
False.

The prevention of cervical cancer through regular performance of smear and appropriate by HPV testing. A normal smear associated with a negative HPV test means that the risk of developing cervical cancer is virtually nil.
Another way to prevent cervical cancer is based on the vaccination of young girls, before or during their first year of sexual activity.

5) There is a vaccine that protects against cervical cancer.
True.

6) The first symptom of cervical cancer is manifested by pain in the stomach.
False.

The most common early symptoms of cancer of the cervix are bleeding occurring outside of menstruation, either spontaneously or after sex. But this sign does not necessarily mean it is cancer. However, it must consult to determine the exact cause.

7) Cancer of the cervix is hereditary.
False.

It is most often caused by a virus of the family of human papillomavirus (HPV).

8) Smoking doubles the risk of cervical cancer.
False.

Active smoking triples the risk of cervical cancer. This passive smoking doubles this risk.

9) The vaccine can prevent 70% of cancers of the cervix.
True.

The vaccine only protects against 4 types of HPV. They are involved in 70% of cancers of the cervix. The effectiveness of the vaccine is nearly 100%, we can say that the vaccine protects against 70% of cancers of the cervix.

10) People vaccinated do not need to make a smear every year.
False.

The vaccine only protects against 4 types of viruses. It is therefore essential to continue Pap smear screening to prevent 30% of cancers related to other papillomaviruses.

11) A vaccine against cancer of the cervix is recommended for all women with sexual activity.
False.

It is recommended for teens and tweens. More specifically, it is for girls 14 years and women 15 to 23 years have not yet had sexual intercourse or sexual activity within the last year.

12) A single injection of vaccine is sufficient.
False.

Immunization requires 3 doses of vaccine injected intramuscularly.

13) The cost of vaccination against cervical cancer of the uterus exceeds 400 euros.
True.

One dose of vaccine costs 135.59 euros. Three doses are needed to obtain immunity, vaccination is up to 406.77 euros.

14) The vaccine is reimbursed by social security.
True.

It is reimbursed at 65% by Social Security since July 2007 only for teens and tweens, before the start of their sex life or during the first year.

15) The cone biopsy is a surgical procedure performed in the treatment of cervical cancer.
False.

It performs most often a conization (removal of a piece of cloth shaped cone at the base of the neck of the womb) when suspicious cells are detected by the smear. This procedure will determine the exact nature and extent of the cells. It is also used as a surgical procedure, that is to say, it allows the complete removal of precancerous tissue and prevents the progression to cancer.

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer worldwide among women in terms of frequency, behind breast cancer and tied with Colorectal Cancer. Nearly 400 000 new cases are diagnosed each year, including a large proportion of the poor, whether in countries in developing or industrialized. The standard method of detecting breast cancer, used for fifty years, is to visually examine hundreds of thousands of cells for each patient (morphological examination) in search of small variations in shape and size of cells and nuclei that signalprecancerous cells and cancer. This method is called a Pap smear, named after its inventor Dr. G. Pap `s that has developed in the 1940s. In common parlance, we speak more readily of "smear" in reference to the method of sampling cells.
<-336x280 Large Rectangle - center->
Early diagnosis of cervical cancer of the uterus is `indispensable to a good prognosis. The early detection programs are therefore designed to identify women at risk and those with the earliest stages of the disease. Each year, we realize at least 140 million Pap tests in the world. The establishment of programs for prevention and early detection of morphological abnormalities of cervical cells has reduced d `70` l% incidence of cervical cancer.

Despite this considerable success, current methods of screening and diagnosis of cervical cancer have recognized limitations, resulting in an unacceptable rate of false negatives and false positives and high cost. Indeed, the current tests involve a high degree of subjectivity and does not detect direct markers of the disease.

Research papillomavirus (HPV) has recently been adopted to elucidate the results of cytology unclear or slightly abnormal (most of which are false positives) among women over 35 years. It has been demonstrated that high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) were the main etiological factor for cervical cancer `s uterus. The search of `HPV in this application is limited to a small percentage of smears. The sensitivity of the search for the `HPV disease is greater than the Pap test. That said, the high prevalence of infection with HPV `l in women (up to 25%) leads to a very low specificity (correlation between a positive test and the actual disease), which severely limits the potential clinical usefulness This early detection.

We know that `the persistence of infection with HPV high risk for several years is a causal factor of cervical cancer` s womb.

The objective of early detection of the disease should be significantly improved compared to current approaches, based on a subjective interpretation of morphologic cervical cells or on a risk assessment based on the presence of HPV`. To detect and diagnose cancer earlier cervical `s womb, it is more efficient to detect specific biomarkers that indicate the presence or absence of` this type of cancer or its precursors. mtm laboratories has identified p16INK4a as a marker potential direct and developed a family of technologies for screening and diagnosis based on this biomarker. The techniques of diagnosis and early detection based on this marker promise a safe and accurate diagnosis of the disease. The diagnostic kits of mtm laboratories use the E6H4TM antibodies, highly selective and sensitive to the presence of p16INK4a, whose value has been demonstrated clinically. Unlike other possible antibodies, detection with E6H4TM shows no cross reactivity with Trichomonas (Protozoa causing vaginal infections), which causes an excessive number of false positives and rendered the antibody in question.

This is some info about the human papilloma virus or HPV.We must understand that all women come in contact with it at least once in their lives.In rare cases the infection caused by the virus can become cancer ( malignant neoplasm ).

<-336x280 Large Rectangle - center->

Cancer of the cervix and HPV infection - Cancer of the cervix is the long-term consequence of an infection caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). There are over 100 genotypes of HPV. Fifteen of these papillomavirus, known as high risk or oncogenes are associated with the development of cancer of the cervix uteri. The transmission occurs through contact with skin and mucous membranes, most often during sex, with or without penetration. Therefore, the condom, it can limit their contact with the virus, can not provide complete protection.

HPV infection is very common and is acquired mostly in the five years following the first sexual intercourse. In most cases, infection is transient and is eliminated naturally in 1 to 2 years after sexual contamination. But in 10% of cases, the infection persists and can cause abnormalities (lesions) in the cells of the cervix, these lesions can themselves evolve into cancer.

There are several stages of precancerous lesions (called CIN 1, CIN 2, CIN 3), may regress to a cervical normal persist or even develop into cancer of the cervix. This cancer is on average fifteen to twenty years to develop after the persistence and progression of HPV infection in high risk, which leaves a significant window of action for screening and early detection of precancerous lesions and cancer .

Two modes of action exist:  The vaccination used preventively, that is to say, before contact with the virus. There are two vaccines currently marketed in France: a bivalent vaccine for protecting said against HPV genotype 16 and 18 and a quadrivalent vaccine protects against HPV types 6,11, 16 and 18.The High Council of Public Health recommends preferably, in its opinion of December 14, 2007, the quadrivalent vaccine.

The population targeted by this vaccine consists of:  girls 14 years before exposure to the risk of HPV infection
girls and young women 15 to 23 years who have not had sex or, later in the year following the start of sexual life. This vaccination does not protect 100% against cancer of the cervix and does not replace the Pap smear screening. These two actions are complementary.

Screening is essential because of the partial protection of HPV vaccination. It is based on a cervical smear performed every three years for women 25 to 65 years (after the first two normal smears performed one year apart). From 25 years, all young women, whether vaccinated or not, should benefit from screening swabs.