Severe Cervical Dysplasia

Severe cervical dysplasia is a serious disease that considerably increases risk for carcinoma of the cervix. In general, the diagnosis of cervical dysplasia is determined if there are some abnormal changes found in the sqamous cells of the cervix. Dysplasia may be classified as mild, moderate or severe, starting from the amount of abnormal changes in the cervical tissue. Severe form of dysplasia is identified in case abnormal changes involve the total thickness of cervical squamous epithelium.

As a rule, severe cervical dysplasia grows from less pronounced forms of the disease, i.e. mild and moderate dysplasia. It has been shown that cervical dysplasia has more chances to develop in women having history of various sexually transmitted infections, smoking, problems with immune system, risky sexual behavior, use of birth control pills and other factors. At the same time, it is believed that the main cause of cervical dysplasia is the infection with HPV (human papillomavirus) or HSV (herpes).

The prevention of severe cervical dysplasia is very likely if dysplasia is discovered when it is mild or moderate. Regular gynecological visits along with Pap test provide the possibility to find initial abnormal changes in the cervical cells which lead to dysplasia. Pap test is a screening tool to examine the cervical squamous and glandular cells according to special technique able to detect different abnormalities. Pap test, also known as Papanicolaou smear, has been used for about sixty years and it has proved its effectiveness in screening for precancerous and cancerous conditions of the cervix.

It is necessary to assess cervical epithelium status by colposcopy and biopsy in order to determine the diagnosis of severe cervical dysplasia. Colposcopy and biopsy help to evaluate the amount and localization of abnormal cells on the cervix. Colposcopy, which is a standard gynecology follow-up for an abnormal result of the Pap test, is the direct magnified inspection of the cervix, vagina and vulva. If during colposcopy the doctor observes some abnormal areas he may remove a small piece of tissue for laboratory analysis – procedure called biopsy.

Currently different methods of severe cervical dysplasia treatment are available. If left untreated, severe cervical lesions have many chances to degenerate into malignancy. Without treatment, severe cervical lesions are unlikely to disappear. In many cases such lesions are treated by surgery. However, in some cases even surgical treatment of severe cervical dysplasia is not effective enough and lesions reoccur within some period of time.