Cervical dysplasia refers to changes in the cervix which may or may not be eventually become cancerous. These changes are usually, but not always, associated with infection with high-risk types of HPV.
Dysplasia is a generic medical term meaning abnormal growth. Although cervical cancer and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia are both types of cervical dysplasia, not all cervical dysplasia will eventually lead to cancer. Many low grade lesions will resolve on their own without treatment.Cervical dysplasia is usually detected by Pap smear. Follow up testing to determine the cause and extent of cervical dysplasia may be done by either colposcopy or biopsy, possibly accompanied by HPV testing.
One final note: The term cervical dysplasia is not always used consistently by physicians. For example, the Pap smear result ASCUS - atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance - is very common but only rarely progresses to pre-cancer or cancer. For this and other reasons, many physicians do not consider the cervical changes associated with an ASCUS diagnosis to be cervical dysplasia; however, some doctors will refer to it in that way. This can raise excessive concerns about cancer risk in patients who do not recognize that cervical dysplasia comes in degrees.
