How long will cervical precancerous lesions develop? What causes pain in precancerous lesions?

From precancerous lesions to malignant invasive cervical cancer, cervical cancer has a long history of canceration, with a latent period of at least 5-10 years. Therefore, as long as the correct physical examination is chosen, more than 90% of cervical cancer can be prevented and killed in the "precancerous lesions" stage.

Cervical cancer is the most common gynecological malignancy. When it develops to the late stage, it will soon take a person's life. However, cervical cancer has a feature that other malignant cancers do not have: it is the only cancer with a known cause. In addition, the process of cervical cancer is long. From precancerous lesions to malignant invasive cervical cancer, there is a latent time of at least 5-10 years. Therefore, as long as you choose the right physical examination, more than 90% of cervical cancer can be prevented and killed at the "precancerous lesion" stage.

However, some women believe that uterine B ultrasound and cervical smear can screen for cervical cancer, but obstetricians and gynecologists say that in fact, these two physical examination methods can lead to missed diagnoses.

It usually takes 5-10 years for cervical precancerous lesions to develop into cervical cancer

The natural evolution from cervical precancerous lesions to cervical cancer usually takes 5-10 years. At this stage, the vast majority of patients have no obvious symptoms, and most symptoms have reached the late stage. Once cancer, especially in the late stage, develops rapidly and metastasizes to other parts of the body through lymph and blood vessels.

In the precancerous stage, active treatment can basically achieve a 100% cure rate, but once cervical cancer reaches the advanced stage, the mortality rate is almost 100%. The treatment of cervical cancer has been very standardized. If the examination shows mild cervical precancerous lesions, it can be observed; moderate and severe precancerous lesions can be removed by LEEP to remove cells with a tendency to become cancerous, thereby achieving the purpose of preventing cervical cancer; severe precancerous lesions, namely carcinoma in situ, are only one step away from cervical cancer. If cervical cancer develops and the early cancer cells do not metastasize to the pelvis, extensive hysterectomy can be selected to achieve good treatment results. If the advanced cancer cells metastasize, radiotherapy and chemotherapy can only be used to prolong survival.

It is worth reminding that there are no obvious symptoms in the early stages of cervical cancer. Some patients will experience vaginal contact bleeding (bleeding after sexual intercourse or gynecological examination), or increased vaginal discharge, which is white or bloody, as thin as water or rice soup, and has a fishy smell.

Vaginal contact bleeding is a typical manifestation of cervical lesions, which may be cervical cancer, but may also be cervical polyps and other diseases. If you have such symptoms, you should seek medical attention in time, and the doctor should determine the cause. The most important way to detect lesions is to have regular women's examinations.

TCT+HpV is the most reliable method to check for precancerous lesions

Cervical cancer screening advocates liquid-based cytology (TCT) and HPV virus testing in the extraction of secretions from the cervical canal. As for when to start the examination, there are different opinions, because as long as women have sexual life, they are likely to develop cervical cancer. Judging from the age distribution of patients, we recommend screening from 25 to 70 years old, or cervical cancer screening after 3 years. If economic conditions permit, gynecological examinations can be performed at the same time as HPV and TCT after the age of 25. The former can find out whether there is a cause of the disease, and the latter can explain whether there are changes in the cells, that is, precancerous lesions.

If the family conditions are average, you can do an HPV test at least once every three years, and then do a TCT test if the test result is positive; if you do a TCT and an HPV test, and both indicators are normal, you can do a test every five years until you are 70 years old. Cervical cancer is the only cancer with a known cause. Most patients are infected with HPV through sexual intercourse. Don't worry, not all viruses will cause cervical cancer if you are infected with high-risk HPV. It can only be said that repeated and persistent infection can lead to cervical cancer.

However, many people have been infected with HPV but have never had cervical cancer. This is because there are many types of HPV, including high-risk carcinogenic types and common types. In addition, the human body has a certain immunity to the virus. Therefore, even if the high-risk HPV test is positive, don't be too nervous. You can check TCT again. If TCT does not find precancerous lesions, you can wait half a year and check high-risk HPV again. If you are healthy and have strong immunity, most people can clear the HPV virus in about a year.

Tip: Early symptoms of cervical cancer

1. Increased vaginal discharge. Most cervical cancer patients have varying degrees of increased vaginal discharge. In the early stages, due to the presence of cancer, the cervical glands are stimulated to secrete hyperfunction, producing mucus-like leucorrhea. As cancer develops, cancerous tissue necrosis and secondary infection occur, the leucorrhea becomes turbid, like rice water or pus-like blood, with a special odor.

Irregular vaginal bleeding. In the early stage, it manifests as a small amount of bloody leucorrhea and contact vaginal bleeding. Patients often have a small amount of vaginal bleeding after sexual intercourse or defecation. People with vaginal bleeding after menopause should pay attention to finding the cause. Vaginal bleeding from cervical cancer is often very irregular, usually less at first and more later, sometimes more and sometimes less. Cauliflower-shaped bleeding occurs early and in large amounts. After advanced cancer erodes large blood vessels, it can cause a large amount of fatal vaginal bleeding. Patients often develop anemia secondary to long-term repeated bleeding.

Pain is a symptom of advanced cervical cancer. The main cause of pain is the infiltration or compression of the pelvic nerves by cancer. Other causes of pain are: lower abdominal pain occurs when the cervical canal is blocked by cancer, the secretions in the uterine cavity are not drained smoothly or uterine cavity pyometra is formed; when the tumor invades the paracervical tissue and the ureter is compressed or infiltrated, it can cause ureteral or pelvic ureteral hydrops, resulting in distending pain or spasmodic severe pain on one or both sides of the lower abdomen; when the tumor compresses the iliac lymph nodes and iliac blood vessels to block the reflux, swelling and pain in the lower limbs may occur.