Published 18 September 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a1350
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a1350

Editorials

Adverse pregnancy outcomes after treatment for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia

Ablation is safer than excision, but any unnecessary treatment should be avoided

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Cervical cancer caused by infection with human papillomavirus remains a leading cause of death from cancer in women worldwide.¹ Premalignant lesions detected by screening are often treated by excision or ablation. Excisional techniques include cold knife conisation, laser conisation, and large loop excision of the transformation zone. Commonly used ablative techniques include laser ablation and cryotherapy, which destroy superficial tissue. All of these techniques are effective. Many women of childbearing age undergo these treatments, so their effect on subsequent pregnancies is important. Two linked studies assess the outcomes of pregnancy after treatment for premalignant lesions of the cervix (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia).^{2 3}

In a registry cohort study from Norway (doi: 10.1136/bmj.a1343), Albrechtsen and colleagues found that women who had undergone cervical conisation had a significantly higher risk of preterm delivery in subsequent pregnancies than those who had the treatment after delivery and those who were never treated.² They concluded that . . . [Full text of this article]

¹ Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Helsinki University Hospital, FIN-00029, Helsinki, Finland, ² Mother and Child Health Research, La Trobe University, Melbourne 3000, Australia

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Acknowledgements

Maija Jakobsson
bmj.com, 24 Sep 2008 [Full text]

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