Systemic Lupus Erythematosus as a Risk Factor for Cervical Cancer and its Precursor Conditions: Assessment Using Pap Smear and Histopathology
While overall mortality of patients with cervical carcinoma has declined over the years due to the widespread availability of successful screening programs, cervical cancer remains the second most prevalent malignancy in women and a significant cause
of morbidity and mortality, with nearly 510,000 newly diagnosed
cases and 288,000 associated deaths.
Overall, the 5-year survival
rate was stated to be 73% but the prognosis was unsatisfactory.
Cervical cancer has been recognized as a sexually transmitted disease for decades, and sexually transmitted human papillomavirus infection has been implicated in its pathogenesis.
In the mid-1970s, Meisel and Fortin recognized, on morphological grounds, that cervical HPV infection often occurred with histological characteristics of mild cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN).
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic systemic, autoimmune disease that affects multiple organ systems with a
wide variety of symptoms, clinical and laboratory manifestations.
A significant complication of SLE is the increased occurrence of malignancy, including cervical cancer, autoimmune system failure, and chronic infections. Further, exposure to immunosuppressive drugs may offer reasons that indicate an increased
incidence of malignancy in SLE.
Gynecol Obstet Res Open J. 2022; 8(1): 1-7. doi: 10.17140/GOROJ-8-155
