On completion of this section the cytotechnologist should understand:

• The epidemiology of cervical cancer worldwide and in Europe
• Clinical presentation staging and treatment of invasive cancer
• Histological types of invasive cervical cancer 
• Cervical cancer as a multistage disease
• Preinvasive lesions:histology, WHO and CIN terminology
• Evidence to support the concept of progression of CIN to invasive cancer (experimental and prospective studies)
• Aetiology and pathogenesis of cervical cancer- general risk factors