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Origin of the disease
What causes cervical cancer: The cervix is the lower part of the uterus, which leads into the vagina. Mainly due to sexual intercourse, the cervix can be exposed to carcinogenic viruses. These viruses belong to the same family as the virus that causes warts on the skin: the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). The chance that infection occurs depends on a number of factors, such as the age when the woman became sexually active and the number of sexual partners. In a sense, cervical cancer can be considered a sexually transmitted disease. To a large extend, safe sex protects most women from cervical cancer as well.
According to the latest research, contact with a carcinogenic type of HPV is an essential condition for cervical cancer to develop. Fortunately it does not mean that every woman who is infected with HPV actually gets cervical cancer as well. The cells that are affected by HPV are usually recognized by the immune system and destroyed, eliminating the threat. If this does not happen, the DNA (chemical substrate of the genetic materials in cells) of the virus is integrated in the cell nucleus of the infected cells. This is the first step in the malignant development of the cell. Proteins that are created by the genes of the virus have a negative effect on the natural 'protection' that the cell has against changes in the DNA. For example, protein p53 - which under normal circumstances protects the cell against malignant changes - is eliminated. When this form of protection is gone, the cells with irregular DNA can multiply without restraint, increasing the chance of one of the infected cells changing into a cancerous cell.
Socioeconomic risk factors: Our increased knowledge of processes at cell and DNA level should not distract us from the fact that the cause and the development of cervical cancer also depends on certain risk factors at the level of the individual (lifestyle) and society. The risk of a woman dying of cervical cancer is strongly related to her socioeconomic status and her educational background. This is true everywhere. Within Western societies, it is usually women from poorest social classes who run the highest risk of cervical cancer. Worldwide, the connection between poverty and cervical cancer is possibly even more distressing. Cervical cancer is the most common type of cancer among women in the poorest nations.
It is not easy to provide a scientific explanation for the connection between cervical cancer and these socioeconomic factors. Various factors, such as access to health care facilities, qualitative and quantitative malnutrition leaving the immune system less effective, sexual habits and sexual emancipation and habits such as smoking are involved. Women from the lowest social classes are at a disadvantage due to a combination of these factors.
Furthermore, cervical cancer can have a negative effect on the local economy. In many third world counties, women play a crucial role in the economy. They do not only take care of the children, they also work on the land and in the city which makes up for an important contribution to their family and the local community. When a woman dies of cervical cancer, it doesn't just affect her family. The community loses a valuably member of the workforce as well.