Abstract

Cervical cancer is a major health problem in the world today. Cervical cancer is a disease of young women and most commonly occurs around the mid 40's. It can affect a wide age range and women in their 20's may develop the disease.Worldwide cervical cancer is the fifth most deadly cancer in women. Cervical cancer is the malignant cancer of cervix uteri or cervical area. In the precancerous stage, readily detectable changes occur in the cells lining the surface of the cervix. This happens when normal cells in the cervix change into cancer cells. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a necessary factor in the development of nearly all cases of cervical cancer. Pap smear screening can identify potentially precancerous changes. Treatment of high grade changes can prevent the development of cancer. Cervical cancer is the major risk in women today. Awareness screening programme, preventive vaccination and diet are preventive measures that reduce the incidence of cervical cancer. In developed countries, the widespread use of cervical screening programmes has reduced the incidence of invasive cervical cancer by 50% or more. In this article effort has been taken to discuss causes, symptoms, diagnosis, preventive vaccination and treatment and preventive measures discussed in details which would surely prove to be some help to decrease the risk of cervical cancer in women.

Key words: Cervical cancer, cervix, human papilomavirus, pap smear, preventive measures.