Hello and welcome to the zero to finals podcast.

My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about cervical cancer.

And you can find written notes on this topic at zero to finals.com slash cervical

or in the cancer section of the zero to finals obstetrics and gynecology book. So let's get

straight into it. Cancer of the cervix tends to affect younger women peaking in the reproductive

years. 80% of cervical cancers are squamous cell carcinoma. Adinocarsinoma is the next most common type.

Very rarely there are other types such as small cell cancer.

Cervical cancer is strongly associated with the human papilloma virus or HPV.

Children aged 12 to 13 years are vaccinated against certain strains of HPV to reduce

the risk of cervical cancer. Sevicle screening with smear tests is used to screen for pre-cancerous

and cancerous changes to the cells of the cervix. Early detection of pre-cancerous

changes enables prompt treatment to prevent the development of cervical cancer. Let's talk in more

detail about the human papillomavirus virus. The most common cause of cervical cancer is infection

with human papillomaavirus, or HPV.

HPV is also associated with anal, vulval, vaginal, penile, mouth and throat cancers.

HPV is primarily a sexually transmitted infection.

There are over 100 strains of HPV.

The important ones to remember are type 16 and 18,

as these are responsible for around 70% of cervical cancers

and also the strains targeted with the HPV vaccine.

There's no treatment for infection with HPV.

Most cases will resolve spontaneously within two years,

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