Cervical cancer

Cervical cancer is a malignant type of cancer that can grow in the lower part of the uterus, which is called the cervix (see figure). It is associated with pre-existing severe cervical dysplasia caused by HPV infection. In most cases, it takes 3-5 years between the diagnosis of severe cervical dysplasia and its progression to cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is more common in younger women, especially those NOT screened regularly with PAP smears. As a result, this type of cancer is relatively rare in Western developed countries, since screen tests usually increase detection at an early stage, as well as the chances of a complete treatment.

Cervical cancer is usually diagnosed with PAP smears, as well as cervical biopsies during colposcopy.

Surgery is the treatment of choice for cervical cancer; the procedure depends on cancer stage at diagnosis and the patient’s reproductive stage. For instance, for the earliest (microinvasive) stage in a patient with no children, treatment may involve a wide excision of the cervix, a procedure known as cervical conization (ideally performed using a surgical knife, and not diathermy or Laser).

At a more advanced stage, RADICAL hysterectomy is the procedure of choice (NOT total hysterectomy) along with total lymph node dissection.

Such procedures are performed by specialist gynecologists with a specialty in gynecologic oncology. Moreover, laparoscopy or robotic surgery is being used to perform these radical procedures for a considerable number of years, with some very few exceptions, provided that the surgeon is properly trained and qualified.

The first laparoscopic radical hysterectomy in Greece with total lymph node dissection (both pelvic and paraaortic) was performed in 2004 by Dr. Georgios Hilaris and his team.

Furthermore, in 2008 the first series of such procedures performed in Greece by Dr. Georgios Hilaris and his team was published in an acclaimed US medical journal. To date we have performed the largest number of these laparoscopic and robotic surgeries for cervical cancer and endometrial cancer removal in Greece.