Hvidovre Hospital

Every year approximately 15,000 Danish women are diagnosed with cell changes and annually 350 Danish women are diagnosed with cervical cancer – more than half are below the age of 50 years.
Cervical cancer is caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV).
Almost everyone which is sexually active has been infected with HPV at least once in their lifetime.
For most people the infection clears on its own, but for some the infection becomes chronic. Women with a chronic HPV infection have an increased risk of developing cellular changes and cervical cancer.
HPV does not cause any symptoms. Therefore, it is important to be screened.
It is not possible to treat an HPV infection, but pre-stages to cervical cancer can be treated.
By attending screening regularly, it is possible to detect cellular changes before they develop into cancer.
Regular screening decreases the risk of developing cervical cancer with up to 80%.
It is important to attend screening even if you are vaccinated against HPV, since the vaccine does not cover all the HPV types that can cause cancer.

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