Cervical Cancer: Known Types and Causes
There are two main types of cervical cancer: squamous cell carcinomas, cancer that begins in the cells that cover the surface of the cervix, and adenocarcinomas, or cancers that begin in the gland cells of the cervix that produce mucus.
The American Cancer Society reports that 8 or 9 out of 10 cases of cervical cancer are squamous cell carcinomas. While other types of cancer such as melanoma, sarcoma, and lymphoma can develop in the cervix, however they usually occur in other parts of the body. Sometimes cervical cancer can be made up of both squamous cell carcinomas and adenocarcinoma. This is referred to as "mixed carcinoma", and occurs less often.
While the ultimate cause of cancer is unknown, medical experts have identified HPV, or human papillomavirus infection as the primary cause of cervical cancer. HPV is a common infection by a group of viruses that is passed through sexual contact. Often people become infected at some point, but most of these infections resolve themselves without treatment, and most people never even become aware that they are infected.
Some HPV infections, however, can cause changes in the cells of the cervix. These "changes" can be detected with Pap tests, and if found early the cancer can be prevented by removing or destroying the altered cells before they change into cancer cells.
There is now a vaccine for women age 9-26 that protects against two types of HPV that cause cervical cancer, however this should not be considered a substitute for regular Pap tests, also known as Pap "smears". Because HPV infection and other risk factors can work together to increase the risk of cervical cancer even more, these tests are of paramount importance for early detection of the cell changes wrought by HPV.