Can cervical cancer be effectively prevented? What are the causes of cervical cancer?

Although cancer is scary, almost all cancers can be prevented and cured. For example, cervical cancer can be detected and treated early through physical examinations. Although modern cervical cancer treatment still has many defects, if female friends can develop the good habit of regular gynecological examinations, they can completely prevent the occurrence of cervical cancer and stay away from the pain of the disease.

Effective screening to detect cervical cancer as soon as possible

1. Be familiar with the early symptoms of cervical cancer

Contact vaginal bleeding, irregular vaginal bleeding, postmenopausal vaginal bleeding, unclean menstruation, increased leucorrhea, odor, etc. may be early signs of cervical cancer. Once such symptoms occur, you should go to the hospital as soon as possible for gynecological examination, cytology, colposcopy, cervical biopsy and other related examinations.

2. Actively participate in cervical screening

It is entirely possible for women who are already sexually active to detect cervical lesions early by undergoing regular gynecological examinations and using effective screening methods under the guidance of a doctor.

3. Don’t take cervicitis lightly

Cervicitis is a common disease in women. Patients often experience increased vaginal discharge with odor, vaginal and vulvar itching, etc. Some patients also experience a small amount of contact vaginal bleeding. If the above symptoms occur, if you have never undergone cervical screening or the re-screening time has exceeded, you should first undergo a cervical cytology examination. Cervicitis can only be considered after HPV has been excluded from cervical cancer or precancerous lesions. Otherwise, it is easy to miss the opportunity to diagnose cervical cancer early.

4. Don’t refuse cervical examination during pregnancy

Pregnant women also develop cervical cancer or precancerous lesions from time to time. Patients or doctors often attribute vaginal bleeding during pregnancy to threatened abortion, miscarriage or placenta previa, worrying that colposcopy will have adverse effects on the pregnancy, and therefore unnecessary examination of vaginal bleeding during pregnancy, leading to delayed diagnosis.

5. Confirmed by pathological examination

When doctors suspect cervical lesions and cytology is abnormal, they need to bite the cervical lesions with biopsy forceps under direct vision or colposcopy, and take one or more tissues for pathological examination. Pathological histological diagnosis is the standard for diagnosing cervical cancer.

What are the causes of cervical cancer?

The real cause of cervical cancer is still unclear, but a large amount of data shows that the occurrence of cervical cancer may be the result of a combination of factors. The main and important predisposing factors are as follows.

Unclean sexual life

Due to the barrier protection of the hymen, the vaginal microecological environment of unmarried women is in a balanced state. Even if bacteria invade, it is difficult to get sick, so cervical erosion rarely occurs. Once sexual intercourse occurs, the vagina is relatively in an "open" state. During sex, the penis is in direct contact with the cervix. If men do not pay attention to sexual hygiene, bacteria can be directly brought into the vagina and infect the cervix. For women who already have cervical erosion, it can aggravate cervical inflammation, expand the erosion surface, and cause severe sexual bleeding.

2. Excessive cleaning

Some women pay great attention to hygiene, but lack the necessary knowledge and often use high-concentration disinfectants to clean the vagina, which is counterproductive. This is because it will not only affect the normal growth of vaginal flora and reduce the inhibitory effect of bacteria, but also cause varying degrees of cervical epithelial damage and eventually erosion.

3. Multiple artificial abortions

Repeated miscarriages can cause varying degrees of cervical damage, giving bacteria an opportunity to cause cervicitis. The stimulation of inflammation will increase local secretions, and long-term immersion in inflammatory secretions will cause erosion.

4. Menstruation lasts too long

Studies have shown that cervical erosion is related to the menstrual cycle and duration. The prevalence rate is 81.80% for ≤81-20 days, 43.33% for ≥20 days, and 83.33% for ≥8 days. Therefore, women with short cycles and long durations are more likely to suffer from cervical erosion.

5. Having multiple sexual partners and having too much sexual activity

Having sex more than 4 times a week, including menstruation, are also causes of cervical erosion that cannot be ignored.

6. Malnutrition can also lead to cervical cancer

Vitamins

Studies have found that low carotene intake is a risk factor for cervical cancer. In addition, vitamin C is also related to the incidence of cervical cancer. A survey in my country showed that when vitamin C intake increases, the risk of cervical cancer decreases.

Trace Elements

Cervical cancer is associated with trace elements copper, zinc and selenium. Disease in patients with cervical cancer is associated with high copper intake. Due to the antagonistic effect of copper on selenium, large doses of copper can cause selenium deficiency in animals.