Cervical Cancer Flashcards
what are the 2 types of cells of the cervix?
glandular cells and squamous cells
what is cervical cancer caused by?
HPV
what is necessary for development of cervical neoplasia, but when alone is not sufficient to cause cervical cancer? what does this mean?
HPV
-means that the HPV has to be there, but the HPV alone is not sufficient -> there are other factors that contribute to the cervical abnormalities (co-factors)
what are the 2 major factors associated with development of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cervical cancer?
- HPV types
2. Age and Persistence
what are the low-risk types of HPV?
6 and 11
what are the high-risk types of HPV?
16 and 18 (16 is more prevalent)
what’s the deal with age and persistence in association with HPV?
women < 30 y/o can clear HPV infection
as you get older, prevalence of HPV decreases, but the persistence of HPV infection in older women increases (can’t clear the infection)
don’t know how women clear HPV infection
what factors is the likelihood of HPV persistence related to? what do they mean?
older age, duration of infection, high oncogenic HPV subtypes
- women >55 y/o have persistence of high-risk HPV infections vs women < 25 y/o
- longer an HPV infection as been recognized, longer it takes to clear
- high-risk HPV types persist longer than low-risk HPV types
what are the risk factors for HPV infection?
sexual transmission, cervical transformation zone (T-zone), HPV molecule mechanisms
what is the site of the cervix where carcinogenesis occurs by HPV?
the cervical transformation zone (T-zone)
what is the transformation zone (T-zone) of the cervix?
it is the border b/w the stratified squamous epithelium of the ectocervix and the columnar epithelium of the endocervix
also called the squamocolumnar junction (SCJ) - where squamous epithelium meets the columnar epithelium
what are the phases of HPV infection?
Latent infection (first phase), Active infection, Neoplastic transformation
what is the Latent infection phase of HPV infection?
without physical, cytologic, or histologic manifestations
-HPV is not active (not replicating)
what is the Active infection phase of HPV infection?
HPV undergoes replication, but NOT integration of the genome
what is the Neoplastic transformation phase of HPV infection?
The virus can persist in the cytoplasm
OR
Integrates into the host genome -> when integration occurs, this is neoplastic transformation
at what phase of HPV infection is there replication, but NO integration of HPV into the genome?
Active infection
at what phase of HPV infection is there integration of HPV into the genome?
Neoplastic transformation
what are the co-factors in pathogenesis of HPV causing cancer?
Immunosuppression
-HIV infection, immunosuppressive therapy
Cig Smoking
-HPV and Smoking have a synergistic effect
Herpes and Chlamydia
Oral contraceptives
2 ways for detecting HPV?
HPV DNA Testing and HPV RNA Testing
what does HPV RNA testing look for?
looks for expression of E6 and/or E7 RNA
-onco-proteins that suppress tumor suppressor genes
(E6 interferes with p53 and E7 interferes with retinoblastoma tumor suppressor gene)
if get infection with HPV low-risk type (6 and 11), what is the clinical consequence?
genital warts
if get infection with HPV high-risk type (16 and 18), what is the clinical consequence?
premalignant or malignant lesions
what is p16 for cervical cancer?
it is a surrogate marker for high-grade or low-grade HPV
if p16 staining is positive, what does that mean? if p16 staining is negative, what does that mean?
positive = high-grade, means it is active
negative = low-grade, means it is NOT active
what does CIN 1 mean?
LSIL -> low-grade lesions
-means the lower 1/3rd of the epithelium is chaotic in structure
what does CIN 2 mean?
HSIL -> high-grade lesions
-almost 2/3rds of the epithelium is chaotic
what does CIN 3 mean?
HSIL -> high-grade lesions and includes CIS (carcinoma in situ)
what is the difference b/w CIN 3 and CIS?
CIN 3 = more than 2/3rds of the epithelium is chaotic
CIS = carcinoma in situ = entire epithelium is chaotic
what does ASC-US and ASC-H mean?
ASC-US
-atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance
ASC-H
-atypical squamous cells: cannot exclude high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion
Both mean you aren’t sure what is wrong with the cells -> so order HPV testing to see if pt has HPV infection or not
what are the 2 ACS screening tests?
Cervical cancer screening co-testing
Reflex HPV testing (aka Triage)
what is Cervical cancer screening co-testing?
Testing with both cervical cytology (Pap test) and high-risk HPV infection
-Means that at the time the pt comes to the clinic to get her pap, you also do a HPV test at the same time
what is Reflex HPV testing (aka Triage)?
The collection of a specimen for HPV testing when the cytology sample is collected, but performing the HPV test only if the cytology results are ASC-US
-Pt has no previous HPV infection hx, get pap and pap results are ASC-US or ASC-H -> if these are the results, then do HPV testing on the same sample
what does CIN mean?
Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN):
-premalignant condition of the uterine cervix
how is cervical cancer the most preventable cancer?
b/c have cervical screening and HPV vaccines