Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment: An Overview

Cervical cancer imposes a huge global burden. Cervical carcinoma is one of the most common and feared diseases of women, and in India, it accounts for 16 per cent of total cervical cancer cases occurring globally. The situation is more alarming in the rural areas where the majority of women are illiterate and ignorant about the hazards of cervical cancer. To date, various studies have been conducted on the risk factors associated with cervical cancer. Accumulated evidence has demonstrated the reasons by which HPV infection causes carcinogenesis. Two viral oncoproteins E6 and E7could play a key role in the HPV-infected cervical cancers. It has been documented that not all integrations necessarily depend on the E6 and E7 oncogenes expression. Currently, clinical treatment managements for cervical cancer typically include surgery, radiotherapy, and platinum-based chemotherapy. Treatment for early stage disease often is surgical therapy such as cervical conisation, total simple hysterectomy, or radical hysterectomy based on extent of spread of cervical cancer. In the recent years, a series of systemic treatments, for instance, the platinum-based chemotherapy and the recent FDA approved pembrolizumab, have applied for recurrent and advanced cervical cancer. Although screening and advanced therapeutic strategies have improved the survival rate of cervical cancer, some patients still die due to metastasis and drug resistance. Without a doubt, HPV vaccination could pre-vent the development of cervical cancer; however, many patients’ in underdeveloped countries cannot get HPV vaccination due to economic condition. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence, mortality, and geographical distribution of cervical cancer and its risk factors in the world and study the molecular mechanisms of cervical cancer development and progression, to discover the novel molecular diagnostic methods and systemic management for cervical cancer. The findings of this study demonstrated that several factors including sexually transmitted infections, reproductive factors, hormonal influences, genetics and host factors are responsible for the incidence of cervical cancer. The results of this review study suggested that combination of biological, economic and health factors contributes to the incidence of cervical cancer. A large proportion cervical cancer can be prevented by prevention programs, lifestyle enhancement, smoking cessation, and timely and effective treatment of pre-cancerous lesions.