
The tests for cervical cancer screening are the HPV test and the Pap test. Pre-cancerous changes can be detected by the Pap test and treated to prevent cancer from developing. Regular screening can prevent cervical cancers and save lives. The goal of cervical cancer screening is to find pre-cancer or cancer early when it is more treatable and curable. Treating cervical pre-cancers can prevent almost all cervical cancers. But, in some women pre-cancers turn into true (invasive) cancers.


Doctors use several terms to describe these pre-cancerous changes, including cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), squamous intraepithelial lesion (SIL), and dysplasia.

Instead, the normal cells of the cervix first gradually develop abnormal changes that are called pre-cancerous. Cells in the transformation zone do not suddenly change into cancer.
