Can cervical cancer be detected early? How?

Video content is professionally consulted by BSCK II Tran Thi Mai Huong, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital

Cervical cancer is very common in women, the disease is caused by the HPV virus, warning symptoms of cervical cancer include: In addition to the menstrual cycle, abnormal vaginal bleeding after intercourse, vaginal bleeding in postmenopausal women, abnormal color, anemia, pelvic pain; foul-smelling discharge, abnormal urination,...
Cervical cancer screening is extremely necessary because this disease does not happen suddenly, but silently goes through the stages from the time of infection. HPV, which causes abnormal changes in cervical cells, precancerous lesions and then cancer, lasts an average of 10 to 15 years. Especially in the pre-cancerous stage, there are almost no symptoms, so women cannot know they have the disease without going to a gynecologist.
Early cervical cancer detection leads to more treatment options. Currently, the best way to detect cervical cancer early is to have regular screening with a Pap test (which can be combined with an HPV test). Being aware of any signs and symptoms of cervical cancer can also help avoid delays in diagnosis. Detecting cervical cancer early greatly improves the chances of successful treatment of pre-cancers and cancers.
Measures that can help detect cervical cancer early include: Gynecological examination, vaginal cytology test - Pap test and colposcopy. In addition, women can have a colposcopy when the results of a cervical cancer screening test show abnormal changes in the cells. Colposcopy is a useful method to help doctors diagnose and evaluate abnormalities in the cervix.
In particular, this method helps doctors to detect precancerous lesions and micro-invasive cancers when there are no clinical symptoms. When detecting suspected lesions in the cervix, the doctor will biopsies that location to take a few small pieces of tissue, then stain, look at the microscope to find malignant cells, serve the purpose of treatment. accurate diagnosis. Like other cancers, cervical cancer, if detected early, can be completely cured. However, because in the early stages of the disease, there are few obvious symptoms, so it is often detected only when it is at a late stage - when the treatment is difficult and the cure rate is not high.


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