ATHENA, the largest cervical cancer screening study in the United States, confirmed that compared with women who are not infected with human papillomavirus, women who carry HPV 16 and HPV 18 are 35 times more likely to develop cervical precancerous lesions, even if their Pap cytology results are normal.
Knock on the blackboard to underline the key points.
Up to 75% of women may be infected with human papillomavirus in their lifetime, most of which are one-time infections and will be eliminated by the human immune system. The purpose of cervical cancer screening is to find more high-grade precancerous lesions, rather than detecting pure human papillomavirus infection.
It is worth noting that persistent infection with high-risk human papillomavirus may develop into high-grade precancerous lesions and then develop into cervical cancer.
Therefore, for human papillomavirus infection, we must prevent it in advance, intervene in time and take treatment measures.
Regular detection of high-risk human papillomavirus genes, especially HPV 16 and HPV 18 typing, can more objectively evaluate whether there is a high risk of progression to precancerous lesions in women.
If precancerous lesions can be found early and treated with blocking therapy, the cure rate of cervical cancer can reach 98%, but once it develops into cancer and spreads to other organs, only 20% of women can survive for more than 5 years.
Bian Xiao reminded everyone: "It generally takes 10 years to develop from precancerous lesions to cervical cancer. Early intervention can effectively reduce the incidence of cervical cancer. However, because there is no obvious clinical manifestation in the early stage and precancerous lesion stage of cervical cancer, it is easily overlooked by most women. The majority of women should raise their awareness of cervical cancer prevention and conduct gynecological examinations regularly to achieve early diagnosis and early treatment. "