cervical intraepithelial neoplasia
Meaning of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia: Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia describes abnormal cell growth confined to the surface layer of the cervix, identified through routine screening.
Definition of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia
Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia is a term for abnormal, precancerous changes in the cells lining the surface of the cervix. The abnormal cells are confined to this surface layer, called the epithelium, and have not invaded deeper cervical tissue, which distinguishes this condition from invasive cervical cancer.
The condition is generally graded by how much of the epithelium's thickness is affected and how abnormal the cells appear, ranging from a lesser degree of abnormality to a more extensive change considered a more advanced precursor to cancer. Persistent infection with certain strains of human papillomavirus is the most common underlying cause.
Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia is typically identified through cervical cancer screening and confirmed with a tissue sample, and because it describes a precancerous rather than cancerous change, it is monitored or treated with the aim of preventing progression to invasive cervical cancer.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
A biopsy confirmed cervical intraepithelial neoplasia following an abnormal screening result.
Good to know
Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia describes a precancerous change confined to the epithelium's surface layer, distinguishing it from invasive cervical cancer, in which abnormal cells have spread beyond this layer into deeper tissue.
Word origin
Where “cervical intraepithelial neoplasia” comes from
Formed from Latin cervix, meaning neck, and Greek neos, meaning new, and plasis, meaning a forming, describing new and abnormal cell growth confined within the epithelium.