Snyder 1

Jessica Snyder

Prof. Leonard

ENG 1201

15 March 2020

Literature Review

Within all five of my chosen sources, there were definitely some similarities. But first,

my topic is about whether or not cancer can be hereditary or not. The reason I chose this topic is

that my family has been affected by this undetermined crisis. Within the past four generations,

the women on my mother’s side have all been affected by Cervical Cancer. Some were more

serious than others but, still a coincidence. Furthermore, one of the most common statements

made within all five of the sources was that if there is a cancer genotype that runs within a

family’s bloodline than medical professionals recommend genetic testing. Another similarity was

that for Cervical Cancer specifically there is a common way of genetic testing. The most

common/ effective way is a PAP test. Doctors recommend for those who do tend to see a similar

genotype in their family bloodline recommend getting tested for HPV and PAP tests once every

three years (Cervical Cancer specifically). Among many other similarities, these were the most

common.

As you know if there are similarities there are bound to be some differences as well.

Some of the most standout differences are as follows. One of the main differences were the risk

factors. For example, in “Cervical Cancer” by the Mayo Clinic, they say the risk factors are not

practicing safe sex, smoking at a young age, and having a full-term pregnancy before the age of

21. Whereas in “Risk Factors for Cervical Cancer”, by the American Cancer Society, they say it

is caused by long-term usage of contraceptives, chlamydia infections, and having a low fruit and
 Snyder 2

vegetable diet. Both sources give very good background information as to why these reasons are

risk factors for cancer. I think that all are risk factors and should all be practiced no matter what.

Another difference would be the recommended treatments. The American Cancer Society states

that the most common form of treatment would be chemotherapy until the cancer cells have been

demolished. Whereas The National Cancer Institute states that the most effective way would be

to get a hysterectomy. A hysterectomy is a surgical operation to remove all or part of the uterus.

All in all, both are effective ways to remove cancer from one’s body but, the chosen treatment

should be the one that would be best for the specific patient’s condition.

To further this review, I analyzed all five sources. The criteria in which I analyzed them

under is the following: purpose and reliability. This will cover the purposes of all five sources.

The purpose of the article, “Familial risks in cervical cancer: Is there a hereditary component?”

by Kari Hemminki, Chuanhui Dong, and Pauli Vaittinen is to give statistical information about

mothers and daughters commonality in Cervical Cancer. They performed tests and recorded the

data in order for people to visually see the statistics. The purpose of “FDA approves genetic

screening test for cervical cancer”, by, Matthew Perrone was to report on how the FDA made it

much easier and more effective to get genetic screening on people who have had popular cancer

in their family’s bloodline. The purpose of “The Genetics of Cancer”, by The National Institute

of Cancer, is to explain the genetics of cancer as a whole. The genotypes, cells, and formulas that

go into cancer. They explain what goes on in your body when cancer cells take over. The

purpose of “Risk Factors for Cervical Cancer”, by the American Cancer Society, was to inform

people of the risk factors that can cause one to get Cervical Cancer. Finally, the purpose of

“Cervical Cancer”, by the Mayo Clinic, was to give an in-depth explanation of what Cervical
 Snyder 3

Cancer is, how to avoid it, treatments, testing, etc. This source is an all-around question

answerer.

With this literature review, it was only fitting to analyze my sources in order to make sure

they are credible. I analyzed them under the following criteria: purpose and reliability. This will

cover all five source’s reliability. Source 1; “Familial risks in cervical cancer: Is there a

hereditary component?” by Kari Hemminki, Chuanhui Dong, and Pauli Vaittinen, is credible

because there are sources cited from where the authors found their information, there are graphs/

charts showing their results, and there are no ADs or any type of “distraction” on the margins.

Source 2; “FDA approves genetic screening test for cervical cancer”, by, Matthew Perrone, is

credible because its a news article by USA today, which is a respected news company. There are

citations done by the author showing where he got his information from. Finally, there are no

ADs and or distractions in the margins. Source 3; “The Genetics of Cancer”, by The National

Institute of Cancer, is credible because The National Institute of Cancer, is a very well known

organization that has raised a lot of funds to give to cancer research programs. This also has an

updated date for the research given. The source also gives visuals to help the reader be able to

understand their information more clearly. Once again, there are no ADs or distractions in the

margins making this source very reliable. Source 4; “Risk Factors for Cervical Cancer”, by the

American Cancer Society, is credible because is a very respected, well-known, and big

corporation that has again given funds to cancer research programs, charities, and non-profit

hospitals. This has an updated date from when it was last reviewed. Gives lots of credible and

reliable information while also providing citations. Also does not have any ADs or distractions in

the margins. Finally source 5; “Cervical Cancer”, by the Mayo Clinic, is credible because it’s a

well-known research program. It’s also somewhere you can go to get treated if need be. There is
 Snyder 4

an updated date from when it was last reviewed. There are also no distractions and or anything

that is trying to gain profit on the margins. Therefore, after analyzing these sources under these

specific criteria, they are credible/ reliable.

To conclude, after analyzing the five sources I chose under the following: purpose,

reliability, similarities, and differences I can conclude that they are definitely good sources to

have for research when writing this paper. All five sources are credible. They all do not fall

under the CRAAP source acronym. They all have a purpose that can potentially answer my

research question. Some report different information than others but, in my opinion, that is a

good quality to have because then I don’t just have five sources all giving me the exact same

information. Therefore, my literature review was successful in finding whether or not my sources

were good choices or not.

Works Cited
 Snyder 5

“Cervical Cancer Risk Factors: Risk Factors for Cervical Cancer.” American Cancer

Society, www.cancer.org/cancer/cervical-cancer/causes-risks-prevention/risk-factors.html.

“Cervical Cancer.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research,

31 July 2019, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cervical-cancer/symptoms-

causes/syc-20352501.

Hemminki, K, et al. “Familial Risks in Cervical Cancer: Is There a Hereditary

Component?” International Journal of Cancer, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 9 Sept.

1999, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10446440.

Perrone, Matthew. “FDA Approves Genetic Screening Test for Cervical Cancer.” USA

Today, 25 Apr. 2014, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/04/25/dna-test-

cervical-cancer-pap-smear/8144557/.

“The Genetics of Cancer.” National Cancer Institute, www.cancer.gov/about-

cancer/causes-prevention/genetics.