Disparity in the incidence, prevalence, etiology, screening and presentation of cervical cancer between Africa and America

Abstract

Cervical cancer represents a huge burden of non-infectious disease globally. It is the fourth most common cancer in women and accounts for over half a million deaths every year. In low and middle income countries (LMIC) it is the second most common cancer among women closely following breast cancer. The aetiological agent implicated in this disease is the human Papillomavirus. The high-risk human papilloma virus (HPV) has been mostly implicated. Worldwide, the most common high-risk human papillomavirus implicated in cervical cancer are type 16 and 18. The viral infection of the uterine cervical epithelium initially causes the development of precancerous lesions referred to as cervical intraepithelial lesions/squamous intraepithelial lesions which could take many years to progress into cancer. The Papanicoulao smear test done for the screening of precancerous cervical lesions has been known to be effective in preventing the disease. The commonest types of cervical cancer are the cervical squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. This study seeks to find the disparity in the incidence, prevalence, aetiology, screening and presentation of cervical cancer between Africa and America.