Women's Cancer Week 2: Cervical and Ovarian Cancer

Cervical Cancer

In recent years, the number of cases of cervical cancer has decrease both nationally and statewide, says Peter Argenta, MD, assistant professor in the division of gynecologic oncology at the University of Minnesota and member of the Masonic Cancer Center. He attributes that to a number of reasons, including good screening, such as Pap smears and pelvic exams. “Cervical cancer doesn’t jump from normal to cancer in a single step. We have time to detect it, and with good screening, most woman can be prevented from going from pre-cancer to cancerous stages,” he says.

When a doctor sees an abnormality—dysplasia—in the cells of a Pap smear, he or she will ask that you come back in for a colposcopy, which is where a microscope is used to examine the cervix. Although it might sound frightening to have an abnormal Pap, Argenta says it occurs in many women. “There are two common reasons for normal women to have an abnormal Pap: inflammation and error—it is not a perfect test,” he says. “That is why we tell women to come back every year or two, depending on risk factor and technique (test) used. We may miss things with a Pap smear, so in order for us to prevent cervical cancer, we do it again and again.”

Along with getting an annual—or semi-annual—Pap smear and pelvic exam, women can have the Gardasil vaccine (protects against certain strains of the human papillomavirus [HPV]), which researchers at the University of Minnesota were instrumental in testing. Though Gardasil does not protect against all HPV strains, it does help reduce some of the most dangerous ones. Currently the vaccine is approved for women under twenty-six, and studies are currently being conducted on the affects in older patients. But, as Argenta explains, as we get older, we don’t have some immune responses, so the vaccination may not be as beneficial as early on in life.

If cervical cancer does occur, there are a number of options to consider, including a biopsy (removal) of the cancerous cells, a hysterectomy, or radiation. However, if you take the precautions mentioned above, the likelihood you will develop cervical cancer dwindles.

Ovarian Cancer

Though the number of cervical cancer decrease, the number of ovarian cancer cases is going up, Argenta says. Currently, approximately one in fifty-five women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and the risk is increasing as the population of women goes through menarche earlier and menopause later. “Fewer ovulations in a woman’s lifetime lowers her risk,” Argenta says.

Unlike cervical cancer, ovarian cancer is hard to detect because there are no true symptoms, Argenta says; they tend to be vague, such as bloating, constipation, or pelvic discomfort. “We say that ovarian cancer doesn’t shout, it whispers,” he says. But though ovarian is hard to detect, the risk for it goes down by 50 percent for women who have been on birth control for five or more years due to fewer ovulations.

If a woman does get ovarian cancer, her survival rate normally depends on how early it is caught. “The prognosis for people in early stages, stage one, is a 95 percent five-year survival,” Argenta says. Someone in stage three or four, however, has between 15 and 50 percent five-year survival rate, depending the stage.”

Currently there is no cure for ovarian cancer. Treatments such as removal of the ovaries and chemotherapy can help extend a woman’s life with ovarian cancer. However, at the University of Minnesota, researchers are looking at ways to detect proteins in the blood that can indicate whether or not someone has ovarian cancer because if it can be caught early and easily, the greater the likelihood of survival.