[Precancerous lesions of the cervix and their treatment]

Global cervical cancer incidence and mortality rank fourth in women with malignant tumors, which have been reduced by population-based cervical cancer screening. The previously used Papanicolaou cytological testing of cervical smears was replaced by the Bethesda classification, which facilitated the early detection of the pre-cancerous lesions, used together with other methods such as colposcopy, testing of high-risk genotypes of human papillomavirus (hrHPV) and molecular techniques. The recently introduced terminology as ASC (atypical squamous cells), ASC-US (ASC, undetermined significance), ASC-H (ASC, cannot exclude HSIL), as well LSIL and HSIL (low- and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions) is widely used in Hungary, which guides the treatments of the patients by the clinicians. The detection of HPV is incorporated into the management of the patients as well. It is, however, highly important to update the domestic cervical cancer screening, especially with the introduction of the first-line, primary HPV screening in Hungary, in agreement with the opinions of other groups.