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Cervical dysplasia is a term that also refers to the term cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, abbreviated CIN. This is what is known as a precancerous condition. There are three cases of cervical dysplasia: CIN 1, CIN 2 and CIN 3. Not every type of lesion can transform into a malignant neoplasm. In the case of CIN 1, it is only 1 percent. cases. The risk increases in the other two cases. How to recognize the symptoms of cervical dysplasia? What are the reasons for its creation?
Cervical dysplasia – causes
The most common cause of cervical dysplasia is long-term oncogenic infection that can generate the development of cancer cells. The virus that can cause this infection is HPV, or the human papillomavirus. Data from the World Health Organization, or WHO, shows that HPV infection affects up to 20 percent. people aged 16 to 50. It should be remembered that the human papillomavirus is transmitted during intercourse, so the sexual pathway is the gateway to infection and can lead to cervical dysplasia. HPV has many serotypes and therefore not everyone will be oncogenic. Only certain types of pathogen have this property, eg, 16, 18, 31, 33 and 45. When infection with an oncogenic serotype occurs, cervical dysplasia can develop in three ways. There is low, moderate and high degree of dysplasia. They are called CIN 1, CIN 2 and CIN 3, respectively. It should be borne in mind that dysplasia is a precancerous condition, so the risk of developing a malignant neoplasm increases or decreases depending on the degree. As for CIN 1, only 1 percent. cases may become malignant, in the case of CIN 2 the risk increases by 5%, and in the case of CIN 3 – about 12%. cases of this dysplasia causes the development of cancer. Following this path, it is worth remembering that cells affected by pathological changes may heal again. This happens in 60 percent. cases of development of CIN 1, 40 percent. CIN 2 and about 30 percent. CIN 3 cases. An increased risk of cervical dysplasia is also observed in women who smoke and use contraceptives.
Cervical dysplasia – symptoms
In the case of cervical dysplasia, it is difficult to talk about specific symptoms. The diagnosis is based on the results of the cytological examination. Sometimes, however, nonspecific spotting or discharge after intercourse occurs, which does not include all cases of cervical dysplasia.
Cervical dysplasia – treatment
Treatment of cervical dysplasia involves the observation of changes in the early stages of their development. Small changes control their growth, while moderate and large changes usually require treatment. All methods of treatment of cervical dysplasia used are invasive. They include conization, cryotherapy, cervical electroresection and laser vaporization. Conization, i.e. cold knife biopsy involves the removal of a pathological lesion by a specialist. During the procedure, the doctor removes the tissue by cutting it in the shape of a cone. This method is associated with the risk of haemorrhage, infection and difficulties in the proper development of the child during the planned pregnancy in the future. Cervical electroresection is a procedure that is 95% effective. During the procedure, the diseased tissue is removed using tungsten wire. Giving about 99 percent. the effectiveness of cryotherapy is based on freezing pathological tissues. When performing this type of surgery, the risk of bleeding increases. Cryotherapy can also leave a scar. In turn, laser vaporization is a method of treating cervical dysplasia, the effectiveness of which reaches 90%. The laser allows the burning of diseased tissues. There may be bleeding and severe pain, but this method hardly leaves any scars.
Cervical dysplasia – prevention
Studies have shown a correlation between vitamin B9 (folic acid) deficiency and reduced resistance to HPV infection. Experts also suggest that those women who suffer from vitamin A, E and C deficiency may be more at risk of infection. It is related to the fact that these vitamins are antioxidants that fight free radicals. Folic acid is involved in the metabolism of nucleic acids, which is of great importance when it comes to integrating the genetic material of the virus into the DNA found in human cells. The right amount of it prevents this phenomenon.