[Cervical cancer. Current view of its epidemiology and risk factors]

An epidemiologic analysis and a global evaluation of risk factors related to the etiopathogenesis of cervical cancer are reported here. Cervical cancer is the second cause of female malignancies worldwide and represents a health problem in some countries of Africa and Latin America like Haiti, Zimbabwe, Bolivia and Ecuador, with incidence rates from 44.2 to 93.9 per 100,000. Highest death rates are reported in Haiti, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Mexico (53.5 to 17.1 per 100,000, respectively). Although at this time in Mexico it has been reported a 55.4% of early tumors and a decrease of 20% in death rates, in this country cervical cancer is the main cause of death for women malignancies. Sexual activity and parity before 18 years old, human papilloma virus infection (HPV) and some nutritional deficiencies mainly related with antioxidants agents, are in these countries the most important risk factors. Mexican investigations have showed oncogenic HPV genotypes in 80% of aceto white lesions of the cervix, a 50% of HPV16 genome in cervical carcinomas and a variety of HPV16 infection, named HPV16AA-c. Women infected with these viruses, are younger and have more aggressive carcinomas.