Cervical cancer and human papillomavirus : South African guidelines for screening and testing

摘要

Cervical carcinoma is still the most common cancer of womenon the African continent. Mortality remains high – worldwide at50% – mainly because of late presentation, advanced stage ofdisease and absence of a functioning screening process. Theaetiological link between human papillomavirus (HPV) infectionand cervical cancer has been well established and a number ofhigh-risk HPV genotypes have been identified. HPV infection isthe most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the worldtoday – up to 80% of sexually active females will harbour HPV atsome point in their lives. The majority of women will experiencenatural elimination of HPV infection because of an intact immunesystem. Persistent infection with a high risk type HPV puts womenat high risk to develop precursors of cervical cancer or carcinomaitself. As part of a public health response to this serious problem,several HPV vaccines are under development. Use of vaccines stillposes unanswered questions in many respects.