Clinical guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of patients with cervical cancer

Cervical cancer, in comparison with other gynecological malignancies, mainly affects younger women. It can be prevented through educational programs, vaccination, screening and early detection. In early stages it can also be effectively treated. Treatment modalities include surgery, radiotherapy and systemic therapy according to stage of the disease and patient condition. Treatment decisions should be made through multidisciplinary team meetings that consist of gynecologists, radiologists, clinical oncologists, pathologists, cytologists and if necessary surgeons and urologists. The success rate of the treatment depends significantly on their good and thorough communication and cooperation. Due to the significance and impact of this disease it is important to define and implement a standardized algorithm and approach for diagnostics, treatment and monitoring. The following text presents up-dated and supplemented clinical guidelines for the standardization of the diagnostic criteria, management, treatment and monitoring of patients with uterine cervical cancer in the Republic of Croatia.