BACKGROUND AND PRE-CANCEROUS
CERVICAL DISEASES
Among gynaecological disorders in women of reproductive age, cervical abnormality occurs in 10-15% of cases. Cervical cancer is currently the most frequent malignant disease of female genital organs. It is about 12% of all malignancies identified in women.
We can note some phasing and staging of the cervical pathological processes in the carcinogenesis development. There are background and pre-cancerous diseases, in situ cancer and advanced cervical cancer.
The background diseases stand for the diseases and the changes of the vaginal part of the cervix, when the epithelial normoplasia persists, ie, the right mitotic division of epithelial cells and their differentiation, maturation, of exfoliation go on. These diseases include: pseudo-erosion, ectropion, polyp, endometriosis, leukoplakia, eryth-roplakia, papilloma, cervicitis and true erosion.
The pre-cancerous cervical conditions include epithelial dysplasia - pathological processes with a severe hyperplasia, proliferation, disorders of differentiation, maturation and rejection of epithelial cells.
ETIOPATHOGENESIS OF THE CERVICAL DISEASES
The pre-cancer, and subsequently the cervical cancer is formed on the background of benign disorders of stratified squamous epithelium (ectopia, metaplasia). This is possible due to the bipotent properties of reserve cells, which can be converted into squamous and prismatic epithelium.
Columnar epithelium Ectopia develops in two ways:
• the formation from the reserve cells in the cervix surface of not squamous, but the columnar epithelium (the main way of ectopia development);
• replacement of the erosion of the squamous epithelium of inflammatory or traumatic origin by single layer columnar epithelium originating from the cervical canal (minor way of ectopia development).