Women's Health

Cervical cancer

Persistent high-risk HPV infection can cause cervical precancer and invasive cancer; England's screening programme uses primary hrHPV testing with cytology triage, while symptoms or a suspicious cervix require direct clinical assessment and specialist staging.

Definition

Cervical cancer is malignant disease arising in the cervix, most commonly squamous cell carcinoma or adenocarcinoma. Persistent high-risk HPV infection causes most cases, and vaccination plus screening can prevent many cancers or detect precancer before invasion.

First principles

Persistent high-risk HPV is the necessary driver, not every HPV exposure

Most HPV infections are transient. Persistent infection with a high-risk type can produce viral oncogene effects, including disruption of p53 and retinoblastoma-pathway control, allowing abnormal epithelial cells to persist and accumulate further changes. The clinically important distinction is persistence and progression risk, not simply a positive HPV result.

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