Screening for cervical cancer in the developing world.
Cervical cancer remains the most common malignancy amongst females in countries of low income, mainly due to a lack of screening. Responsible factors are centred around inadequacies of the Pap smear: high cost; low sensitivity; the need of a laboratory with high human expertise; and a demanding logistic system for mass screening. No alternative screening method seems to be clearly advantageous. Although combinations of tests have higher sensitivities, they are complex, costly and associated with low specificities. Adding the problem of effective treatment, it seems that mass screening with adequate coverage of the population is an unreachable goal for many developing countries. The most promising development in the control of cervical cancer seems to be vaccination against the human papillomavirus, either as a preventative measure or for stimulating immunity in infected women.
Cronjé
H S
HS
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa. gnoghsc.md@mail.uovs.ac.za
D019342:Acetic Acid; D000328:Adult; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000473:pathology; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000379:methods; D002578:Uterine Cervical Dysplasia / Q000628:therapy
D004279:DNA, Viral; D019342:Acetic Acid