How long does it take for cervical precancerous lesions to develop into cervical cancer?

Many people think that cervical precancerous lesions mean cervical cancer, but this is not actually the case. It takes a relatively long time for cervical precancerous lesions to develop into cancer, about two to ten years. Therefore, if we can detect precancerous lesions early and provide timely treatment to prevent them from developing into cervical cancer, we will get a better prognosis. So how does cervical precancerous lesions turn into cervical cancer?

The natural evolution from cervical precancerous lesions to cervical cancer generally takes 5-10 years. During this stage, most patients do not have obvious symptoms, and most of them are in the terminal stage when symptoms appear. Once cancer becomes cancer, especially in the late stage, it grows very quickly and migrates to other parts of the body through the lymph nodes and blood vessels. In the precancerous stage, active treatment can basically achieve a 100% cure rate, but once cervical cancer reaches the late stage, the mortality rate is almost 100%.

Causes of cervical precancerous lesions

1. Unhealthy married life

Women who do not have sex are generally not likely to get cervical cancer. The earlier they have an unhealthy sex life, the more likely they are to develop cervical cancer in the future. Sexual confusion (including both men and women), young age at first sexual intercourse, marital factors, cervical erosion, viral infection (HSV-2, HPV), etc. are high-risk factors for cervical cancer. Overseas reports show that the risk of cervical cancer increases tenfold for those who start having sex before the age of 15 or have more than six sexual partners. In addition, the cholesterol in men's urine scale can be transformed into carcinogens after being acted upon by bacteria, which is also a major cause of cervical cancer.

2. HPV infection

High-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a key factor in causing cervical cancer. More than 90% of cervical cancer patients are infected with high-risk HPV. When HPV infection persists, it can cause cervical cancer in the presence of factors such as smoking, use of emergency contraception, and reproductive tract infections. This process is long. In other words, it takes a relatively long time for HPV infection to develop into precancerous lesions, namely CIN, and it also takes a long time for CIN to develop into cancer. Regular inspections can detect and treat them in time before lesions occur.