Cervical Cancer Flashcards
HPV 16 and HPV 18 account for ____ % cervical cancer cases
71%
FIGO, 2018
What are the two major approaches for prevention of cervical cancer?
1) Prevention of invasive cancer by HPV vaccination
2) Screening for precancerous lesions
What percentage of sexually active women will acquire HPV infection at some stage in their life?
80%
What is the HPV vaccine?
Recombinant vaccine
Composed of virus-like particles (VLPs)
Not infectious since they do not contain viral DNA
VLPs induce an antibody response; when exposed to live HPV, the antibody response protects that individual from infection.
Not a therapeutic vaccine; it does not treat existing lesions.
WHO has reviewed safety data and concluded that there is no safety concern regarding HPV vaccine
How does cervical cancer spread
Direct extension: parametrium, vagina, uterus and adjacent organs i.e. bladder and rectum
Lymphatic channels: regional lymph nodes namely obturator, external iliac and internal iliac, and then to the common iliac and para-aortic nodes
Distant metastasis: lungs, liver, skeleton by haematogenous route is a late phenomenon
What is the best method of radiological assessment of primary cervical tumours greater than 10mm?
What is the advantage of imaging?
MRI Pelvis
Imaging has the advantage of the ability to identify additional prognostic factors, which can guide the choice of treatment modality.
The goal is to identify the most appropriate method and to avoid dual therapy with surgery and radiation as this has the potential to greatly augment morbidity
What is the standard treatment for locally advanced cervical cancer (Stage IIB - IVA)
Concurrent chemoradiation
IV administration of weekly cisplatin during the course of EBRT
Describe the distribution of peak incidence age of cervical cancer:
Bimodal distribution peaking 35-39 and 60-64 years of age.
What is the incidence of cervical cancer in NZ?
What is the mortality rate of cervical cancer in NZ?
- Incidence of cervical cancer is 7 per 100,000 and was reduced by 40% due to screening.
- Mortality rate of cervical cancer is 2 per 100,00 and was reduced by 60% due to screening
List the two most common high risk HPV subtypes.
What percentage of cervical cancers are they responsible for?
HPV subtypes 16 and 18.
Implicated in 70% of cervical cancers.
List the risk factors for cervical cancer:
- Young age of first sexual intercourse
- Smoking
- Multiple sexual partners
- Ethnicity
- Low SES
- Chronic immunosuppression
- Un-vaccinated (HPV vaccine)
What is the efficacy rate of the HPV vaccine?
95-100%
What HPV subtypes are covered by the 9-valent HPV vaccine (Gardasil 9)?
HPV types 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, 58
What are HPV subtypes 6 and 11 responsible for?
90% of genital warts
Who should receive the HPV vaccine?
- Females age 9 - 45
- Males age 9 - 26
- Women with previous HPV (protects against other subtypes they have not been infected with)
- Women with previous CIN (not therapeutic; protects against other subtypes they have not been infected with)
Describe the NZ HPV vaccination programme including the vaccination schedule:
- Gardasil 9 vaccine used.
- School age females and males age 9 to 26 years old. Currently offered to Year 8 students at school.
- Two doses at 0 and 5-13 months
- If immunocompromised or older than 15 years, 3 doses recommended at 0, 2 and 6 months.
List the side-effects of the HPV vaccine:
- Localised discomfort
- Redness and swelling at injection site
- Heavy arm.
- Mild fever
- Nausea
- Dizziness
- Anaphylaxis (rare; 1-3 in 1 million)
- Guillain-Barré syndrome and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (1 in 100,000).
Describe the pathophysiology of CIN and cervical cancer development:
- At puberty, rising oestrogen levels cause the cervix to evert; the columnar tissue lining the cervical canal is everted to the surface of the cervix and is called an ectropion.
- Squamous metaplasia is a normal physiological process caused by acid conditions in the vagina which causes columnar cells to transform into squamous cells. The area where this occurs is called the transformation zone.
- If oncogenic HPV affects the transformation zone, CIN may form instead of normal squamous tissue.
- HPV is epitheliotropic; once the epithelium is infected, the virus can either persist in the cytoplasm or integrate into the host genome. When HPV remains in an episomal nonintegrated state, the result is a low-grade lesion. When the virus becomes integrated into the human genome, high-grade lesions and cancer may develop
- Interaction of viral E6 and E7 proteins with tumour suppression genes p53 and Rb.
- Inhibition of p53: prevents cell cycle arrest and cellular apoptosis which normally occurs if damaged DNA present.
- Inhibition of Rb: disrupts transcription factor E2F resulting in unregulated cellular proliferation.
What is the squamo-columnar junction of the cervix?
The area in which the squamous epithelium of the ectocervix meets the columnar epithelium of the endocervix.