The two types of cervical cancer are named for the type of cells located where the cancer originates. They are squamous cell carcinoma, which is the most common and can be anywhere from 80 percent to 90 percent of all cervical cancers; and adenocarcinoma, which is the remaining 10 percent to 20 percent of cancers.

Cervical Cancer Prevention

Screening tests and a vaccine against the cause of cervical cancer have improved the odds of preventing the disease. Particularly when discovered early, cervical cancer is treatable.

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is the cause of most cervical cancers. This is a virus that can be transmitted during sex. There are several types of HPV, some of them causing changes that lead to cancer, others generating skin or genital warts.

Most people will get HPV at some point in their lives. The trouble is that it typically has no symptoms, leaving little clue as to its presence. In some cases, HPV goes away on its own. But it can survive for years without symptoms, and particularly for those who have higher risk factors, it can develop into cancer.

Risk factors include HIV infection, smoking, using birth control pills for more than five years, having given birth to three children or more, or the patient or his or her partner having many sexual partners. Other factors that can affect the potential for cervical cancer include early onset of sexual activity; a past history of other sexually transmitted diseases like gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis and HIV/AIDS.