HPV Test Effective For Preventing Cervical Cancer Deaths In Some Countries, Study Finds

Main Category: Cervical Cancer / HPV Vaccine
Article Date: 07 Apr 2009 - 2:00 PDT

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One round of screening for human papillomavirus can reduce by more than 50% the risk of death from cervical cancer, which can be caused by the virus, according to a study published in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Time.com reports (Sharples, Time.com, 4/2). The study found that testing women ages 30 and older in rural India for HPV is more effective than a Pap smear for catching cervical cancer in its earliest, most treatable stages. According to U.S. News and World Report, the study's authors believe the research "makes the case for changing cervical cancer screening practices, particularly in low-income countries, since the screening test for HPV would necessitate fewer doctor visits" (Seppa, U.S. News and World Report, 4/2).

For the study, more than 130,000 women ages 30 to 59 in rural India were randomly assigned to one of four equal-sized groups. Three of the groups underwent cervical cancer screenings, either through a test for HPV strains known to cause cancer, a Pap smear or a visual examination of the cervix. Women in the fourth group, the control group, were advised to seek medical care on their own. If the screenings detected signs of HPV or abnormal cell growth on the cervix, women were given complete exams and any necessary treatments. Researchers began the initial screenings and treatments in 2000 and assessed the women's health in 2008. The three screening methods detected similar numbers of cervical cancer cases at the beginning of the study, but women receiving the HPV screening were less likely to develop any advanced-stage cervical cancer throughout the study. By the end of the study, 34 women in the HPV screening group had died of cervical cancer, compared with 54 in the Pap smear group, 56 in the visual exam group and 64 in the control group.

Study author Rengaswamy Sankaranarayanan, a radiation oncologist at the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer, said the study "clearly shows that HPV screening is more sensitive to picking up precancerous lesions than the other tests" (U.S. News and World Report, 4/2). Sankaranarayanan noted that among the women in the control group, who were told to seek out medical care on their own, only 6% followed through. "One of the major barriers for screening is that you need to go to a screening center, you have to wait, you have to go back," he said, adding, "Many of these women are poor women who have to go and work in the field every day." In addition, many women do not understand that cervical cancer can be fatal, he said (Time.com, 4/2). In an editorial accompanying the study, Mark Schiffman and Sholom Wacholder, both of the National Cancer Institute, said that the "implications of the findings of this trial are immediate and global." They recommended the widespread implementation of HPV testing in countries with limited financial resources (U.S. News and World Report, 4/2).

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