Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer remains an important health problem for women worldwide, despite its decline in countries where organized screening programs are in place. The morbidity of treatment and the mortality for advanced lesions are high, a frustrating situation because the cervix is accessible and a good screening test, the Pap smear, exists. HPV is an important risk factor, and the molecular evidence for its role is overwhelming. Molecular markers may soon help us decide which lesions are at highest risk of progression to invasion and which invasive lesions are likely to recur. Chemoprevention of precursor lesions is promising. An HPV vaccine could be effective in eradicating this cancer.