Cervical erosion and cancer: what to know

Cervical erosion, also called cervical ectropion, is not cancer and does not cause cervical cancer. It describes delicate glandular cells from inside the cervical canal being visible on the outer surface of the cervix. The area can look red and may bleed easily, but that appearance alone does not make it malignant.

Ectropion is a benign change in where normal cervical cells are seen. Cervical cancer develops when cervical cells become abnormal and grow in an uncontrolled way. A clinician may recognise ectropion during a speculum examination, but symptoms such as bleeding after sex, bleeding between periods, or unusual discharge can have several causes. Those symptoms should be assessed rather than attributed to ectropion without an examination.

Ectropion does not protect against cervical cell changes. Continue cervical screening when invited, even if a clinician has previously explained that your cervix has ectropion. Screening checks for cell changes; it is not a test that explains every episode of bleeding or discharge.

Book a medical appointment for new, repeated, or unexplained vaginal bleeding, including bleeding after sex or between periods. Mention changes in discharge, pelvic pain, pregnancy possibility, contraception, medicines, and when your last cervical screening was done. The clinician may examine the cervix and decide whether infection testing, screening, or a specialist assessment is appropriate. Treatment for ectropion is considered only after other relevant causes have been excluded and when symptoms are troublesome.

Seek urgent medical help for heavy bleeding, fainting, severe or worsening pelvic pain, fever with pelvic symptoms, or bleeding during pregnancy. Arrange prompt assessment for persistent bleeding after sex, repeated bleeding between periods, blood-stained discharge, or discharge with a strong unpleasant smell. Urgency comes from the symptom and your overall condition, not from assuming that ectropion has become cancer.

You could ask what was seen on examination, whether your symptoms fit ectropion, and which other causes need checking. Also ask whether you are due for cervical screening, whether any test result needs follow-up, and what change in bleeding, pain, or discharge should prompt earlier review.