# Cervical cancer

- Category: chronic
- Review status: reviewed (every claim checked against a document named on this page)
- Sources: Cervical Cancer - StatPearls - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK431093/ · ICPC-3 (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class GD25 - condition scope only, no dose · No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care
- Verified date: 2026-08

## Verified against

- No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care

## Treatment metadata

- No drug therapy in primary care (Referral & Advice)

## Complete treatment card

```text
CERVICAL CANCER
Sources: Cervical Cancer - StatPearls - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK431093/ · ICPC-3
         (WONCA International Classification of Primary Care, 3rd edition) class GD25 - condition
         scope only, no dose · No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care
Review status: REVIEWED against the source listed above  (2026-08)

IS IT THIS? - reference only, to read alongside your own examination
  SYMPTOMS - what the patient reports (3)
    - Usually asymptomatic in the early stages
    - History should probe age at first intercourse, postcoital bleeding, pain with intercourse,
      prior STIs including HPV/HIV, lifetime partner count, tobacco use, and HPV vaccination
      [abnormal uterine bleeding]
    - Ask about menstrual patterns, abnormal bleeding, persistent vaginal discharge, irritation, and
      known cervical lesions  [bleeding · vaginal discharge]
  SIGNS - what you find (1)
    - Exam may reveal a friable cervix, visible lesions, erosions, masses, bleeding on exam, or
      fixed adnexa, though many patients have no positive findings  [bleeding]
  TESTS (6)
    - Pap screening starts at age 21; HPV co-testing joins at 30, and screening continues every 3
      years if consistently negative
    - Past age 30, cytology with HPV co-testing can instead be spaced every 5 years
    - Screening can stop at age 65 for consistently negative, low-risk women, and after a total
      hysterectomy with cervix removal for benign disease
    - Guided biopsies and endocervical sampling at colposcopy are usually needed, except during
      pregnancy
    - For invasive disease, pelvic MRI best shows local tumor extent and treatment response, while
      PET outperforms CT for nodal and visceral metastases
    - A diagnostic biopsy is required to confirm the diagnosis
  IF NOT THIS - what else fits (2)
    - Other causes of cervical lesions or abnormal bleeding: STIs, cervical polyps or fibroids, and
      endometriosis
    - A routine Pap smear can rarely detect metastatic cancer involving the cervix
  Source  StatPearls "Cervical Cancer" - disease-level clinical article
  Status  traced to the source above

1. NO DRUG THERAPY IN PRIMARY CARE (REFERRAL & ADVICE)    [1st line]
   Adult    Cervical cancer occurs in Egypt but at notably lower rates than in much of the world; it
            still needs recognition. Treatment (surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy) is oncology-
            specific and outside GP prescribing, but the GP has a real role advising on cervical
            screening and HPV vaccination, and referring promptly on suspicion. - Refer, with advice
   Peds     Children follow the same pathway: recognise and refer. No primary-care medicine is
            implied.
   Source   No dose - referral pathway, no medicine given in primary care
   Why      Cervical cancer occurs in Egypt but at notably lower rates than in much of the world; it
            still needs recognition. Treatment (surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy) is oncology-
            specific and outside GP prescribing, but the GP has a real role advising on cervical
            screening and HPV vaccination, and referring promptly on suspicion.
   Caution  No medicine is prescribed for this in primary care - this entry is for recognition and
            referral. Anything given is decided by the service it is referred to.
            RED FLAG - Postmenopausal or intermenstrual vaginal bleeding, bleeding after
            intercourse, abnormal vaginal discharge with pelvic pain, or advanced pelvic or back
            pain: refer urgently.

Prices are indicative (dataset snapshot 2026-06); verify with the pharmacy.
```

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