Women who have previously been diagnosed and treated for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, or CIN, are at higher risk for developing invasive cervical cancer, and for having a recurrence of severe CIN than women who have not previously had CIN.

CIN is the abnormal growth of cells found on the surface of the cervix; this is classified as a precancerous condition.

Researchers studied women who had been diagnosed with CIN at grades 1, 2, and 3, and compared them to women who had never have CIN.cervical cancer

Women who were over 40, who had previously been diagnosed with CIN at grade 3, or who had been treated with cryotherapy were most likely to have recurrent CIN at grades 2 or 3 as well as most likely to develop invasive cervical cancer.

In women who had not previously had CIN, the overall risk of developing cervical cancer was 6 in 100,000. Among women who had previously had CIN, that risk increased to 37 in 100,000.

Future studies will look at the impact of treatment choice for women with CIN and how that relates to their risk of developing CIN and cervical cancer in the future.

Your best protection against cervical cancer is to avoid contracting HPV, or human papilloma virus. All women who are sexually active, or who are 18 or older, should have annual screenings for cervical cancer as a part of their annual gynecological examination.