Why has cervical cancer decreased and cervical dysplasia doubled over 10 years?
Nov 26, 2024
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Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the main cause of cervical cancer in the cervix. A disease in which cervical cells are abnormally deformed after infection with HPV is called cervical dysplasia and is classified as pre-cervical cancer. Cervical dysplasia is divided into stages 1 to 3 and can progress to cervical cancer if not treated.
Kyung Min-sun, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital at Hallym University, recently presented an analysis of 35,000 patients with cervical dysplasia aged 15 or older through data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service from 2009 to 2018.
The number of patients with cervical dysplasia increased 2.14 times over 10 years from 3.74 per 1,000 people in 2009 to 8 in 2018. In particular, it continued to increase in all age groups every year for 10 years. During the same period, the number of new cervical cancer patients decreased by 8% from 3849 in 2009 to 3550 in 2018.
The average incidence of cervical dysplasia was 5.63 per 1,000 people, and by age group, 30 to 34 years old was the highest at 8.53, followed by 8.24 aged 45 to 49, 8.08 aged 40 to 44, and 8.07 aged 35 to 39.
Professor Kyung Min-sun cited the increase in the incidence of cervical dysplasia as ▲ decreasing the age of the first sexual experience ▲ increasing the active sex life ▲ increasing the diagnosis at the stage of dysplasia before going to cervical cancer due to the expansion of national cancer screening ▲ increasing awareness and opportunities for cervical cancer cell testing due to the introduction of HPV vaccines.
In addition, detailed analysis showed that the more underlying diseases and the higher the socioeconomic status, the higher the risk of cervical dysplasia.
Professor Kyung Min-sun said "HPV disappears naturally within two years even if infected, but about 10% remains to cause cervical dysplasia. Patients with more underlying diseases are more likely to develop cervical dysplasia without HPV disappearing." In addition, the more underlying diseases or higher socioeconomic status, the more opportunities to undergo cervical cancer tests, which seems to be the cause."
In addition, low cervical cancer screening rates were also a problem. Currently, in Korea, people over the age of 20 can receive cervical cancer screening for free every two years. Despite the expansion of cervical cancer screening, the rate of cervical cancer screening in Korea as of 2020 was 56%, just over half, and in particular, the rate of screening under the age of 30 was only 20%.
In addition, people under the age of 12 can receive cervical cancer vaccination for free, but awareness needs to be raised. Cervical cancer is the only cancer whose cause has been identified, and 80-90% of cases can be prevented if vaccinated against cervical cancer. Vaccines are not effective if you get vaccinated after catching the virus, so the earlier you get them, the better. Cervical cancer is also likely to develop in young people in their 20s and 30s, and cancer tends to progress faster at younger ages.
In the first stage of cervical dysplasia, most of them are followed up, but from the second stage, they will undergo a conical resection to remove the cervix into a cone shape. Conjunctomy increases the risk of premature birth due to cervical incapacity during pregnancy by approximately 10-15%. In this case, preterm birth is prevented by performing preventive rod surgery to bind the cervix in the early stages of pregnancy.
Professor Kyung Min-sun "Despite the decrease in cervical cancer, caution is required due to the continuous increase in cervical dysplasia, which is the previous stage."There has been an active cervical cancer vaccination campaign since 2010, but a 10-year long-term investigation has shown that cervical dysplasia has more than doubled."
Professor Kyung also said, "This long-term analysis of cervical dysplasia data can be the basis for predicting the incidence of cervical cancer in the future and evaluating the effectiveness of the national vaccine project that began after 2016."In order to prevent cervical dysplasia, it seems necessary to prepare more active measures for cervical cancer vaccination and regular checkups, such as increasing the cervical cancer screening rate and actively intervening in women with underlying diseases vulnerable to HPV infection."
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