Abstrakt
Carcinoma of the uterine cervix is the fourth most common malignant tumor in women worldwide. It is estimated that in 2012 there will be 528,000 new cases and 266,000 deaths in the world.
A large majority of the global burden occurs in developing countries, where 445,000 cases and 230,000 deaths from cervical cancer take place annually. The high incidence and mortality rates of invasive cervical cancer (ICC) in less developed regions have a variety of causes, such as economic obstacles and the unavailability of infrastructure, which are necessary to facilitate screening, diagnosis and treatment.
In the long run an effective way to reduce the incidence and mortality in developing countries would be to institute an extensive vaccination program before the onset of sexual activity with technical and economic support from developed countries. The development of an infrastructure that provides effective screening, diagnosis and treatment of precancerous lesions and early cancer stages is unrealistic in most of the less developed regions in the world.