ABSTRACT
The incidence of cervical malignancy varies widely from one country to another and between cultures and social classes. The products of smoking are concentrated in cervical mucus and produce damage to the deoxyribonucleic acid of cervical squamous cells. Adenocarcinomas arise from the glandular epithelium lining the endocervical canal and the endocervical glands. Abnormal glandular cells are much more difficult to sample and detect on exfoliative cytology due to their position higher in the endocervical canal and their situation deep within the glandular crypts of the endocervix. Cervical cytology can give rise to both false-positive and false-negative results and confirmation of positive or unexpectedly negative cytological findings should be sought by biopsy. Colposcopy is undertaken for histological confirmation when there is moderate to severe dysplasia on cytology or when there is an obvious cervical abnormality that needs further assessment. The human papilloma virus is involved in the aetiology of cervical cancer.
