Cervical cancer is usually a squamous cell carcinoma; less often, it is an adenocarcinoma. The cause of most cervical cancers is human papillomavirus infection. Cervical neoplasia is often asymptomatic; the first symptom of cervical cancer is usually irregular, often postcoital vaginal bleeding. Diagnosis is by a cervical Papanicolaou test and biopsy. Staging is clinical, combined with imaging and pathology results when available. Treatment usually involves surgical resection for early-stage disease or radiation therapy plus chemotherapy for locally advanced disease. If the cancer has widely metastasized, chemotherapy is often used alone.