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24 - Cervix

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2009

By
Louise Hanna  and
Malcolm Adams
Edited by
Louise Hanna ,
Tom Crosby  and
Fergus Macbeth
Louise Hanna
Affiliation:
Consultant, Clinical Oncologist, Velindre Cancer Centre, Velindre Hospital, Whitchurch, Cardiff, UK
Malcolm Adams
Affiliation:
Consultant, Clinical Oncologist, Velindre Cancer Centre, Velindre Hospital, Whitchurch, Cardiff, UK
Louise Hanna
Affiliation:
Velindre Hospital, Cardiff
Tom Crosby
Affiliation:
Velindre Hospital, Cardiff
Fergus Macbeth
Affiliation:
Velindre Hospital, Cardiff
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Summary

Introduction

Cervical cancer is the most common cause of death from female malignancy worldwide. Overall it causes more than 273,000 deaths per year, accounting for 9% of all female cancer deaths. The incidence is highest in developing countries (Ferlay et al., 2004). The major risk factor is persistent human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, particularly types 16 and 18. In the UK the incidence of invasive disease has fallen as a result of cervical screening, and the mortality rates are 60% lower than they were 30 years ago.

For patients presenting with very early stage cancers (stages IA1 to IB1), surgery is the mainstay of treatment. For patients presenting with later-stage disease (IB2 to IVA), the recent standard treatment has become concurrent radiotherapy with cisplatin-based chemotherapy. The prognosis is strongly related to the stage of disease at presentation.

There is major interest in the prospect of cervical cancer prevention via the development of vaccines against HPV infection.

Types of cervical tumour

Cervical tumours can be benign, malignant primary or malignant secondary. The range of tumours is shown in Table 24.1.

Anatomy

The cervix is approximately 2.5 cm long and it is situated in the pelvis at the lower end of the uterus. The lower part of the cervix projects into the vagina. The bladder lies anteriorly, and the pouch of Douglas (which may contain small bowel) and the rectum, posteriorly.

Type
Chapter
Information
Practical Clinical Oncology , pp. 278 - 289
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

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References

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  • Cervix
    • By Louise Hanna, Consultant, Clinical Oncologist, Velindre Cancer Centre, Velindre Hospital, Whitchurch, Cardiff, UK, Malcolm Adams, Consultant, Clinical Oncologist, Velindre Cancer Centre, Velindre Hospital, Whitchurch, Cardiff, UK
  • Edited by Louise Hanna, Tom Crosby, Fergus Macbeth
  • Book: Practical Clinical Oncology
  • Online publication: 23 December 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511545375.025
Available formats
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Cervix
    • By Louise Hanna, Consultant, Clinical Oncologist, Velindre Cancer Centre, Velindre Hospital, Whitchurch, Cardiff, UK, Malcolm Adams, Consultant, Clinical Oncologist, Velindre Cancer Centre, Velindre Hospital, Whitchurch, Cardiff, UK
  • Edited by Louise Hanna, Tom Crosby, Fergus Macbeth
  • Book: Practical Clinical Oncology
  • Online publication: 23 December 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511545375.025
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Cervix
    • By Louise Hanna, Consultant, Clinical Oncologist, Velindre Cancer Centre, Velindre Hospital, Whitchurch, Cardiff, UK, Malcolm Adams, Consultant, Clinical Oncologist, Velindre Cancer Centre, Velindre Hospital, Whitchurch, Cardiff, UK
  • Edited by Louise Hanna, Tom Crosby, Fergus Macbeth
  • Book: Practical Clinical Oncology
  • Online publication: 23 December 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511545375.025
Available formats
×