Will female cervical erosion turn into cervical cancer? Women should beware of three major misunderstandings about cervical cancer

Cervical cancer, a female malignancy with a second highest incidence rate after breast cancer, kills nearly 300,000 women worldwide each year. In recent years, the increasing incidence of cervical cancer and the younger age of onset have aroused people's attention to this disease. However, at present, many women still have misunderstandings about cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is not terrible, it is a preventable and curable disease. Cervical polyps are one of the main causes of cervical cancer, and preventing cervical polyps can help prevent cervical cancer.

Preventing cervical polyps helps prevent cervical cancer

1. Keep the vulva clean and actively prevent vaginitis and cervical erosion. For married men and women, before each sexual intercourse, everyone should clean the vulva, especially the man should remove the smegma to avoid bringing the bacteria into the vagina. Be sure to pay attention to: frequently dry the bedding and change and wash the underwear frequently. Also strengthen physical exercise to improve the body's disease resistance.

2. Prevention measures for cervical polyps: In addition to postpartum or post-abortion health care, in daily life, you should pay attention to the hygiene of the vulva, prevent vaginal inflammation and cervical erosion, and maintain a hygienic sexual life.

3. The occurrence of cervical polyps is related to factors such as sexual life and childbirth in addition to inflammatory stimulation. Married women account for more than 98% of patients. Because more than one-third of patients have no obvious symptoms, even if there is inflammation, most of them are very mild, and vaginal bleeding is also a little bit, so cervical polyps are easily ignored by people. Some patients have symptoms of bleeding after sexual intercourse or strenuous exercise or even increased abdominal pressure. Other patients may have yellow leucorrhea, often with a strange smell, or leucorrhea with blood.

4. Wash and change underwear frequently. On this basis, regular gynecological disease examinations are also very important, which is crucial for early detection of the disease and early prevention and treatment.

Cervical cancer beware of these misunderstandings

Myth 1: HPV infection = cervical cancer

The occurrence of cervical cancer is closely related to a virus called human papillomavirus (HpV). Studies have shown that persistent infection with high-risk types of human papillomavirus is a necessary factor for the occurrence of cervical cancer and its precancerous lesions. This virus can be detected in the bodies of the vast majority of cervical cancer patients.

Any woman who has sex may be infected with HPV through sexual contact. About 80% of women have been infected with this virus in their lifetime.

However, being infected with HPV does not necessarily lead to cervical cancer, because every healthy woman has a certain degree of immunity. Studies have shown that after being infected with HPV, the immune system of most women can eliminate the HPV that enters the body. Only a few women cannot eliminate the HPV that enters the body, causing persistent HPV infection, which may cause cervical precancerous lesions. Some of these patients will further develop cervical cancer, and this process takes about 5 to 10 years.

Whether HPV infection will progress to cervical cancer is also related to the type of HPV. There are about 100 subtypes of HPV virus. The most common types of HPV infection in the female reproductive tract are 6, 11, 16, and 18. Among them, HpV6 and HpV11 are low-risk types, while HpV16 and 18 are high-risk types. Cervical cancer studies from all over the world have found that HpV16 and HpV18 have the highest infection rates in cervical cancer patients.

Myth 2: Cervical erosion can turn into cancer

Many women have the misunderstanding that cervical erosion can cause cervical cancer, and therefore they are very afraid of cervical erosion. In fact, there is no necessary connection between the two.

Medically speaking, when the columnar epithelium in the female cervical canal turns outward and replaces the squamous epithelium, doctors will find that the cervix is ​​locally congested and appears red during examination, which is called "cervical erosion". Erosion is not "rotten" in the true sense. It can be a physiological phenomenon. Under the action of estrogen, the columnar epithelium in the cervical canal of women of childbearing age turns outward and replaces the squamous epithelium of the cervix, presenting an "eroded" appearance. However, "erosion" is rare in women before puberty and during menopause because of the relatively low estrogen levels in their bodies.

It is worth noting that cervical erosion can also be a common inflammatory condition. Early cervical cancer is very similar in appearance to cervical erosion and can be easily confused. Therefore, if cervical erosion is found during a gynecological examination, it should not be taken lightly. Further cytological examination and biopsy are needed to confirm the diagnosis, rule out the possibility of cervical cancer, and provide correct treatment.

Myth 3: Not paying attention to gynecological examinations

There is a gradual natural course from infection with HPV to the development of cervical cancer, which generally takes about 5 to 10 years. Therefore, as long as women undergo regular cervical cancer screening, it is entirely possible to detect the "signs" of the disease in time and nip it in the bud. At present, the five-year survival rate of patients with early cervical cancer after treatment can reach 85% to 90%.