Tests

• Colposcopy and biopsy of the cervix, loop excision or cone biopsy. All of these procedures are ways of removing a small piece of tissue from the cervix to check for cervical cancer. For women with pre-cancerous change such as CIN 3 this treatment may completely remove the abnormal cells. For women with cancer the results will show that the abnormal cells have spread inside the cervix and further treatment is required.
• Examination under anaesthetic, to work out the extent of the cancer and find out whether there is spread into the bladder (by doing a cystoscopy) or rectum (by doing a sigmoidoscopy) and to take further biopsies.
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) or Computed Tomography (CT) scan to look at the size of the cancer and how it has spread
• Blood tests – there are no tumour markers for cervical cancer
• Chest X-rays

Amended February 2009