Cervical Cancer

-Early Detection:

One of the most important prognostic factors involves how early the cancer is detected and how far it has spread. Women who undergo annual pelvic exams and Pap smears have a greater chance of detecting any abnormalities or cancerous tissue during the early stages. This can play a crucial role regarding the chances of treating the cancer successfully or having the disease come back. Many procedures such as radiotherapy, cryotherapy, laser treatment or chemotherapy may be effective in removing all the cancerous tissue if the cancer is detected early enough and is restricted to the cervix area. Unfortunately, a patient’s chance of survival decreases if the cervical cancer has not been detected early enough and spreads to other parts of the body.

-Stages Of Cervical Cancer:

Stage 1A- Cancer is confined to the cervix area. The cancer is not deeper than 5 millimetres and not wider than 7 millimetres.

Stage 1B- Cancer is still within the cervix and either: can only be seen with a microscope and is deeper than 5 millimetres or wider than 7 millimetres; or can be seen without a microscope and may be larger than 4 centimetres.

Stage 2- cancer has spread beyond the cervix to the upper two thirds of the vagina but not to tissues around the uterus at first. However, the cancer will spread to the tissue around the uterus eventually later on.

Stage 3A- cancer has spread to the lower third of the vagina but not to the pelvic wall.

Stage3B- cancer has spread to the pelvic wall and/or the tumor has become large enough to block the ureters. This may lead to the enlargement or dysfunction of kidneys due to e blockage. Cancer cells may also have spread to lymph nodes in the pelvis.

Stage 4A- cancer has spread to the bladder or rectal wall and may have spread to lymph nodes in the pelvis.

Stage4B-cancer has spread beyond the pelvis and pelvic lymph nodes to other places in the body, such as the abdomen, liver, intestinal tract, or lungs.

Recurrent cancer: The cancer was treated, but has returned after a period of time during which it could not be detected. The cancer may show up again in the cervix or in other parts of the body.


-Size Of The Tumour:

Tumours are abnormal masses of tissue which can be either normal benign growths or malignant cancerous ones. The size of the cancerous cells or tumour is another prognostic factor for cervical cancer patients. Because cancer cells can divide very rapidly, it’s crucial to detect the disease while the tumours are still relatively small. In fact, a tumour starts from a single cell so smaller masses of cancerous cells are less likely to spread. In most cases, doctors are able to successfully treat small detected tumours.

-Types Of Cervical Cancer:

Prognostic factors are also determined by the type of cervical cancer you contract. Approximately 75% of patients are diagnosed with squamous cell cervical cancer and approximately 10% of patients have adenocarcinoma cervical cancer. A much smaller number of patients develop a form of cancer containing elements of both types. Less than 1% of the population will develop another very rare form of this disease. Certain types of cervical cancer don’t respond as well to treatment.

Examples of cervical cancers:

Squamous cell (epidermoid)- comes from the outer portion of the cervix which protrudes into the vagina. Approximately 80-90% of cervical cancers are squamous cell carcinomas

Adenocarcinoma- comes from cells that make up glands in the cervix. It starts on the more "inner" portion of the cervix, from the same type of cells lining the uterus. Approximately 10% of cervical cancers are adenocarcinoma.

Lymphoma- Primary cervical lymphoma is rare with less than 60 cases reported as of 2005. The extent of disease, size of primary tumour, and type of lymphoma are significant prognostic features.


Resource/links: http://www.thehealthresource.com/cancer_info/cervical_cancer3.cfm