Cervical cancer: myth or reality?

Documented evidence suggests cervical cancer to be accountable for approximately 3.6 per cent of all cancers in Pakistani females and for being the sixth most common malignancy in women.

“The pattern of cervical cancer in Karachi and almost all Muslim countries appears to be linked to the comparatively conservative lifestyle, resulting in lesser exposure to risk factors,” writes Professor Yasmin Bhurgri in her discussion, published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention.

“For now (in Pakistan), the incident rates in younger females are marginally lower than that in the developed countries, however, the incidental pattern is expected to translate into a substantial increase in the occurrence of cervical cancer in Karachi and probably Pakistan,” discusses Dr. Bhurgri. “On account of the absence of preventive interventions such as vaccination and timely screening, cervical cancer rates may parallel those in the high-risk zones,” she suggests.

Another cause of concern is the unwillingness and lack of system for registering cancer cases in hospital settings. Furthermore, social taboos associated with sexually transmitted diseases also hinder women from coming forward and undergoing the requisite tests and treatments.

“About 80 per cent women take smears at a very late stage and thus fall prey to this deadly disease, which can easily be prevented, and if detected early, can be cured,” laments Dr. Bhurgri. “Like other diseases, women feel shy and really don’t bother to go for these tests until it is too late,” she complains.

Pap smears, a simple and easy-to-perform outpatients test, serves as an early warning about this malicious disease. The test collects and examines cervical cells for any abnormality or dysplasia — the pathological term referring to the abnormality of maturation of cells within the tissue.

According to the National Cancer Institute, US National Institute of Health, other factors that make women prone to cervical cancer are smoking, weakened immune system, use of birth control pills over a long period of time, and giving many births.

The threat of cervical cancer is avoidable through the implementation of a stringent cervical cancer control programme. Vigilant screening and consistent follow-ups do provide better management, yet vaccination is the only comprehensive defence against this malicious disease. Additionally, population-wide health education programmes and eradication of taboos as in the case of HIV are the need of the hour.

Globally, 270,000 women die of cervical cancer each year and the disease accounts for nine per cent of female cancer deaths. The annual cervical cancer prevalence is estimated at 500,000 new cases. However, during the last 25 years, the incidence of cervical cancer has greatly been reduced in the developed world. In contrast, there is a marked increase amongst women of the developing countries.

The incidence is highest in Africa, India and Central-South America where approximately 29 out of 100,000 women fall in this trap, annually. These infections are lowest in Oceania and North America.

Cervical cancer is a cancerous tumour, which develops at the cervix as a result of persistent infection with a cancer-causing virus known as Human Pappillomavirus (HPV). Developing or underdeveloped countries bear the major brunt of the disease due to risk factors such as early marriages, lack of screening and low socio-economic status of their women citizenry, imply various studies. In addition to these, sexual appetite and multi-parity is also one of the major causes of spread of cervical cancer.
By MIAN SAUD