Cervical cancer has many names, the most common are: cervical cancer , cervical cancer or cervical carcinoma . But do you know what it is? What is its cause? Is it true that we can prevent it?
January is the month of awareness of cervical cancer and, although it is a disease to be taken into account at all times, these days are a good excuse to start the year raising awareness about the importance of prevention and early detection.
CERVICAL CANCER
The cervix is the lowest part of the uterus, and connects the body of the uterus (where the fetus grows) to the vagina. Cervical cancer originates in cells that line this area.
It is the second most common cancer in women, with almost 500,000 new cases diagnosed in the world each year. The good news is that it is a preventable cancer, since in 99% of cases the cause is the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) , which can be detected. The bad: that there are still many shortcomings in early prevention, which means that more than half of the affected women die from this disease.
HPV DETECTION AND CANCER PREVENTION
From cytology to HPV test
How is cervical cancer diagnosed? Let’s review the story a little: In 1940, the first test was introduced for the prevention of cervical cancer , pap smear or pap test , or what women know as “lifelong” vaginal cytology . With this test, you can see if the cells of the cervix have any abnormality that may indicate the onset of a cervical cancer precursor lesion .
Thanks to this test, the death rate for this type of cancer has been achieved since then by 70% . All an advance! The problem of this technique is its low sensitivity, or what is the same, the ability to diagnose disease, since according to scientific reviews is only 50-60%.
To date, it is known that some types of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), known as HPV high risk or high risk HPV , are the cause of cervical cancer in 99% of cases . Thanks to this discovery, molecular techniques have been developed that detect the virus or the molecular activity related to oncogenic processes.
HPV tests
These techniques or HPV tests are much more sensitive and reliable than cytology and allow the virus to be detected before there is even a precursor lesion (early detection before there is cancer!). In addition, worldwide, the paradigm of prevention is being changed and the HPV test instead of cytology is recommended.
In fact, in the guidelines for the prevention of cervical cancer of the World Health Organization it is already pointed out that cytology as a primary prevention test is a recommendation of the past. In some areas of Spain (Aragón, País Vasco or Navarra), the HPV test is already done as the main screening test instead of cytology. The cytologies are only done to rule out or not the presence of injury, once the HPV has gone positive. This practice will take little time to be implemented throughout the country.
And then, with so much progress in prevention, why are there still deaths due to this disease? The harsh reality is that, in many countries, especially in developing countries, they do not yet have adequate infrastructure to carry out cervical cancer prevention, do not have enough doctors, hospitals or access to centers for women who live in remote or rural areas. This is compounded by the fact that screening for this cancer is opportunistic (it does not reach the entire population, only those women who request it) in almost all countries and there are still a large number of women who do not go to the professional sanitary for modesty to be examined.
HPV Autotome Test
The solution to many of these problems? The selfcollected . Autotome means that the woman takes her own sample to be examined, and has been raised internationally as a solution to the problem of the scope of prevention or screening . In some countries such as the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Australia, it is already used in the national public health system. This allows many women to be tested at home, in a more intimate and autonomous way.
Now with the HPV test, the woman can easily self-monitor from the bathroom of her home and send it in an envelope, dry, to the laboratory, where the results are obtained. It is a very good solution to improve the scope of cervical cancer prevention , both in developed countries and in developing countries.
IUNE HPV TEST
And that’s what the IUNE HPV test offers : a convenient, fast and efficient way for women to take the HPV test without leaving home. IUNE HPV test is the first service in Spain that allows self-testing to detect HPV.
The steps are very easy: you create an account, you ask for the self-sampling device, you make the collection, you request the collection and you see the results report in a few days from your platform. We believe in initiatives that make women’s health prevention and care easier and reach more women, and that’s why we’ve decided to come together!
From today you can find the IUNE test in the new section of B-wom: For you, with a special discount. Cervical cancer is one of the most common, but also with the greatest prevention capacity in the world. We truly believe that the HPV test is essential to eliminate it and we put at your disposal the easiest way to do prevention.
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