The composition of bacteria in the vagina could be an important factor in the development of cervical cancer, according to a recent study.
How are vaginal bacteria and cervical cancer linked?
Infection with some particular strains of human papillomavirus (HPV) is a well-known risk for cervical cancer.
However, researchers at the University of Arizona in Phoenix suggest that other factors may also be relevant because of their influence on the condition of the cervix.
A paper now published in the journal Scientific Reports describes how they found that women with cancer or precancer of the cervix had different vaginal bacteria to women who did not have cervical tissue abnormalities.
The finding suggests that there might be a direct link between "good" bacteria and a healthy cervix, and "bad" bacteria and raised risk for cervical cancer.
"In cancer and precancer patients," explains senior study author Melissa M. Herbst-Kralovetz, who is an associate professor in the College of Medicine at the University of Arizona, "lactobacilli — good bacteria — are replaced by a mixture of bad bacteria."
Cervical cancer and HPV Cervical cancer starts when cells in the cervix, or the entrance to the uterus from the vagina, grow abnormally and become a tumor. The presence of abnormal cells is known as precancer. If the abnormal cells become cancer cells and spread into neighboring tissue, it becomes cervical cancer.