1. Cervical Cancer Slideshow Pictures
2. Cancer Symptoms Women Ignore Slideshow
3. Ovarian Cancer Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Medical Editor:

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Dr. Balentine received his undergraduate degree from McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. He attended medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine graduating in1983. He completed his internship at St. Joseph's Hospital in Philadelphia and his Emergency Medicine residency at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the Bronx, where he served as chief resident.

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Cervical cancer begins with abnormal changes in the cervical tissue. Infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is the cause of almost all cervical cancers. Other known risk factors for cervical cancer include early sexual contact, multiple sexual partners, cigarette smoking, HIV infection and a weakened immune system, and taking oral contraceptives (birth control pills).

• Forms of HPV, a virus whose different types cause skin warts, genital warts, and other abnormal skin and body surface disorders, have been shown to lead to many of the changes in cervical cells that may eventually lead to cancer.
• Because HPV can be transmitted by sexual contact, early sexual contact and having multiple sexual partners have been identified as risk factors for the development of cervical lesions that may progress to cancer.
• Cigarette smoking is another risk factor for the development of cervical cancer. The chemicals in cigarette smoke interact with the cells of the cervix, causing precancerous changes that may over time progress to cancer.
• Oral contraceptives ("the pill") may increase the risk for cervical cancer, especially in women who use oral contraceptives for longer than five years.
• Women who have weakened immune systems, such as HIV-infected women, are also at greater risk for cervical cancer.

HPV infection is very common and does not lead to cancer in the majority of cases. Genital infections with HPVs typically cause no symptoms and go away on their own. Sometimes, however, the infection persists. Precancerous changes or ultimately cervical cancer only arises when there is a persistent infection by one of the HPV types associated with cervical and other cancers.

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