Is there a high risk of getting cancer if you have mild Cervical Dysplasia?

Question

I was just told I have mild Cervical Dysplasia from high risk HPV. Does anyone know what the chances are of it turning into cancer? If you've had this how did it turn out for you?

Please only mature comments. I got the high risk HPV from my HUSBAND.

Answer 1

Hi there! I'm a Cytotechnologist. A Cytotechnologist is a laboratory professional trained to identify and interpret precancerous and cancerous changes in cells. I have screened over 100,000 Pap tests.

HPV is a virus that infects the DNA of a cell and causes cervical cancer and dysplasia. Most types of HPV progress over time, some more quickly than others. Early on, we can see the mutation of the HPV in the cell as changes we call mild dysplasia or precancerous cells. More advanced changes are called moderate or severe. The next step is CIS or carcinoma in situ, cancer that has not invaded other organs. Then comes cancer. If you don't get treatment, your chances of getting cancer are close to 100%.

Currently you have a strain of HPV that is High risk for causing cervical cancer, and you have symptoms that the virus is active (mild dysplasia). If left untreated, it will progress into moderate, severe, CIS and then invasive cancer.

But there is good news! You have been diagnosed with mild dysplasia. The doctor can treat you with cauterization, cone, LEEP or freezing the area that is atypical, and it may destroy all of the precancerous cells, and you will have a normal life and can still have babies some day. It doesn't mean that it can't come back though, and you will need to get your Pap tests on a regular basis, and possibly more treatment if it continues.

No woman has to die from cervical cancer. It is a treatable disease. You are lucky that it has been caught early. See your doctor and follow his advice for treatment. And don't forget to remind your mother, sisters, cousins and friends to get their Pap tests every year! It just saved your life!

Answer 2

I've been through this twice myself. The first time I had mild dysplasia, my doctor and I opted for a wait and see approach. I had asked him for statistics and he said, left untreated, mild dysplasia had perhaps a 10% chance of ever progressing to cancer. On the other hand, there was about a 50% chance that my immune system would just clear it up on it's own. He said we could keep tabs on it and, if it progressed to moderate dysplasia, we'd treat it (because then the chance of progressing to cancer would be much higher... around 45%.) Within 6 months it was gone.

Seven years later, I had another abnormal Pap and this time they actually did the HPV DNA test. Since my new doc was able to confirm that I have one of the high risk strains, she pressed for treatment even though my dysplasia was mild and the affected area of my cervix was small. So, I had LEEP three weeks ago. She says patients in my category have a 95% cure rate, meaning there's only a 5% chance of recurrance (and thus only a tiny chance of recurrance that would lead to cancer.) The procedure itself really wasn't bad; I was nervous, but it was only mildly uncomfortable.

Nobody should be rude to you about having a strain of HPV. There are over 100 strains and the vast majority of the adult population has at least one (like 70% or more.) Most are completely harmless, but a few cause dysplasia and a few others can cause warts.