About cervical cancer

Cervical cancer is not thought to be hereditary. Cervical cancer, in 99.7% of cases, is caused by persistent infection with a virus called Human papillomavirus. HPV is a very common virus transmitted through skin to skin contact in the genital area. Up to 75% of people of reproductive age will be infected with HPV at some point in their lives. However, for the majority of women this will not result in cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is rare while HPV infection is common.

Every year in the UK, over 2,800 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and over 1,100 women will die from the disease. After breast cancer, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women aged 35 and under.

Detection of early changes in the cervix by regular screening is, to date, the most effective method of preventing a cancer from developing. However, with increased understanding of HPV and new technologies, this may change in the future.

Over 4 million women in the UK are invited every year to attend for a smear test.
Over 90% receive a normal smear result. However, there is a worrying trend in the UK; fewer women are attending for regular screening following their invitation, between 2000 and 2005 this fell from 82% to 80.3% and in women aged 20 to 29 this fell from 77% to 71.6%.

The impact of cervical cancer on a woman's life and that of her family, as with other cancers, cannot be overstated but an abnormal smear result also causes misery, distress and anxiety to thousands of women every year.

Improvements in cervical cancer prevention may offer a means of reducing the impact caused by cervical cancer and pre-cancer as well as offering increased efficiency and potentially, cost savings to the NHS.

Last Updated: 04 Feb 2008