Cervical cancer

Abstract

Since its inception in 1948, MD Anderson Cancer Center has been at the forefront of innovative cervical cancer treatment. In the 1940s, cervical cancer was still a very important public health problem in the United States. Although cytologic screening and treatment of preinvasive disease subsequently led to a dramatic reduction in the incidence of invasive cervical cancer in the United States, this disease continues to affect about 11,000 women per year. In 2009, an estimated 4,070 women died of cervical cancer in the United States. Cervical cancer disproportionately affects medically underserved women in the United States and is still a leading cause of cancer death for women in many underdeveloped countries. During the past 60 years, innovations in treatment have substantially improved outcome and quality of life for many patients with this disease.