High-Risk Groups for Cervical Cancer

Abstract

A number of social characteristics define the women at high risk for the development of cervical cancer or precancer. These include marital status, age at marriage, parity, and a number of sexual behavioral features such as an early age of first intercourse, an increased number of sexual partners, and an increased risk of developing sexually transmitted diseases. For completeness, reference is usually made to race and ethnicity as other contributing risk factors. However, in the last decade various sociologic and biologic changes have occurred within the female population at risk for cervical cancer and also within certain male groups so that now we have not only these highly relevant female factors but also some new factors which are starting to identify high-risk groups for cervical squamous carcinoma. Now we may finally include the male as well as his female counterpart in this high-risk grouping. There is evidence to suggest that there does exist a high-risk male whose female partners are at an increased risk of developing cervical neoplasia.