Management of premalignant lesions of the cervix

Abstract

It is accepted that high risk human papilloma virus (HPV) types are the carcinogens for cancer of the cervix. Cervical carcinogenesis is a slow process where cellular changes occur after integration of HPV DNA into the host genome. This dysplasia may revert to normal or may increase in severity over time and in a minority of patients may ultimately progress to invasive cervical carcinoma. For most patients caught in the process of cervical carcinogenesis the status will be that of noninvasive cancer and the diagnosis will be Cervical Intra-epithelial Neoplasia (CIN). This diagnosis creates a window of opportunity to manage the premalignant lesion and thus prevent further malignant progression.