Screening and prevention of cervical cancers

Abstract

Cervical cancer in India ranks as the 2nd most frequent cancer among women and the 2nd most frequent cancer among women between 15 and 44 years of age. As per National Cancer Registry, crude incidence and mortality rate due to cervical cancer in India is 134 per 1,000 and 74 per 1,000 women respectively. Age adjusted incidence rate of cervical cancer reported for six cities are - Bangalore 18.1, Bhopal 18.7, Chennai 24.8, Delhi 17.6 and Mumbai 13.0 per 100,000 (Indian Council of Medical Research, 2006). Several screening methods, both traditional and newer technologies, are available to screen women for cervical pre cancers and cancers. No screening test is perfect and hence the choice of screening test will depend on the setting where it is to be used. In this article, the recommendations for screening and prevention of cervical cancer are discussed. Keywords: Cervical cancer; Screening; Prevention; Recommendations