NATURAL-HISTORY OF CERVICAL NEOPLASIA - OVERVIEW AND UPDATE

Current cervical cancer control strategies and specifically, the scree ning and treatment policies that have been used during the past 30 yea rs, are based on an understanding of the natural history of cervical n eoplasia that does not take into account the important role of human p apillomavirus in cervical cancer pathogenesis. This survey presents a review of new data on the causes of cervical cancer and the role of hu man papillomavirus and recommends the integration of these data. Incor poration of new information on the role of human papillomavirus as the causative agent of most cervical cancers will allow the design of mor e efficient and more cost-effective strategies for cervical cancer con trol.