Gynecology ambulatory office
Screening for cervical cancer
How does early detection help?
Due to the preventive diagnosis of HR-HPV (cancer-causing viruses) and forms of cervical cytology using LBC-Liquid Based Cytology (thin-layer cytology) the early detection rate for cervical cancer has increased by more than 40% and management of a risky patient with HPV infection has improved by almost 80%. Early detection of high-risk HPV infection and related pre-cancer cell changes in the cervix brings a high positive contribution to the early capture and treatment of cervical cancer.
What is LBC?
LBC - thin-layer cytology is a complex oncocytological examination of a smear from the cervix . It guarantees a complete examination of the sampled cytological smear and thus reduces the risk of a false negative finding to a minimum. Compared to classical cytology, LBC has a low share of samples discarded due to insufficient sample quality, which reduces the probability of repeated sampling and therefore also the risk that the woman does not get to the examination and is not “overwhelmed” by statistics in the form of late capture of precancerous cells.
- assessment of all sampled cells
- determination of growth activity of cells which detects early their pre-cancerous changes
- much higher capture rate of pre-cancerous changes of the cervix, which leads to development of cancer
- determination of 13 high-risk types of HPV infection
- examination of sexually transmitted Chlamydia infection
What is HPV?
HPV—Human Papilloma is among the most common infections originating in the genital area. These infections are often unnoticed and quickly recede. However, certain types of these viruses, so-called cancer-causing or high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) play a crucial role in the development of cervical cancer.
An examination to prevent cervical cancer by a cell smear, repeated at annual intervals, is an excellent method of early recognition of cell changes in the cervix. Like any other method, however, not even this can provide 100% certainty.
Evidence HR-HPV using modern methods of molecular biology (PCR and real-time PCR) has become in recent years a given part of these preventive diagnostics. Numerous scientific studies have confirmed that HR-HPV testing has greatly improved preventive diagnostics.
Why detection of cancer-forming high-risk HPV?
To gain greater certainty in the prevention of cervical cancer, we offer a genetic HPV test by means of a uterine cervix smear. In the course of this test, isolated DNA will be used for real-time PCR analysis. If HR-HPV is found in a clinically significant amount in this test, there is no reason to cause any undue concern. In many cases, the HPV infection will spontaneously recede, which is detected by repeated examinations after a certain time span. With a repeated positive and simultaneously cytological changes of the cervical epithelium, what procedure is chosen to avoid the pathological process as soon as possible in the cervical epithelium is at the further discretion of our experts.
Why isn’t vaccination against HPV enough!?!?
It should be remembered that HPV vaccines so far produced and available contain a vaccine against only seven cancer-causing virus types, namely 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52 and 58.
HPV, however, has a lot more cancer-causing types, 35, 39, 53, 51, 56, 59, 66, 68, 70 ... against whom vaccination as such is without effect. That’s why targeted examination of cancer-causing HPV types is also high in vaccinated patients.
- 90% of cervical cancers
- 85–90% of cancers of the vulva
- 80–85% of vaginal cancers
- 90–95% of rectal cancers
HPV is a common and very widespread virus that attacks both women and men. If a person is infected with HR-HPV and his body does not get rid of it, cervical cancer, anorexia, vulva or vagina can develop later in life. HPV infection affects both women and men, as well as children - girls and boys. That’s why the inoculation of only the female population has no significant effect on reducing the incidence of cervical cancer in the population. On the model of an Australian program from several years ago for the effect of effective vaccination, the male population has to be vaccinated as well.
