Cervical adenocarcinoma – role of primary prophylaxis

In contrast to planoepithelial cervical carcinoma, the incidence of cervical adenocarcinoma is increasing, especially in young women. The efficacy of routinely used screening methods in detecting glandular precancerous lesions is significantly poorer than for planoepithelial ones. Infection with oncogenic types of human papillomavirus (HPV) constitutes the most important risk factor for the development of cervical adenocarcinoma. The three most frequent HPV types (16, 18 and 45) coexist with 93% of cases of cervical adenocarcinoma. The estimated protective potential of anti-HPV vaccination with regard to adenocarcinoma exceeds by approximately 20% the corresponding value regarding planoepithelial cervical cancer. The implementation of anti-HPV vaccination in adolescents prior to their exposure to the virus might prevent a significant number of cases of cervical adenocarcinoma.