JHPIEGO Commemorates Cervical Cancer Awareness Month

Main Category: Cervical Cancer / HPV Vaccine
Also Included In: Cancer / Oncology;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 08 Jan 2008 - 1:00 PST

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Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer, and leading cause of cancer deaths, in women worldwide. Globally, 500,000 new cases and 275,000 deaths due to cervical cancer are reported each year. The greatest burden is borne by developing countries, where more than 83 percent of cases occur and fewer than 5 percent of women have ever had a Pap test. This can be compared to the US, where there are 4,000 deaths annually and about 80 percent of women have had a Pap smear in the past three years. The real tragedy of cervical cancer is that it affects women in the prime of their lives, leaving behind young children and families who will struggle socially and economically without the mother. The good news is that cervical cancer is entirely preventable, if diagnosed and treated early enough using the technologies that are available to us today.

Recent critical developments in cervical cancer treatment and prevention have changed the way the global health community battles this deadly, but preventable disease. The much discussed human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine has given us a new primary prevention tool to help prevent cervical cancers due to HPV infection. Another key development in cervical cancer prevention is effective screening technologies that are practical in low resource settings. These innovations include HPV/DNA testing and visual inspection using acetic acid (VIA). VIA is a simple technique that uses vinegar to detect precancerous lesions on the cervix, and can be followed by treatment to freeze the lesions in the same visit (cryotherapy). Evidence shows that this simple, low-cost approach can have an important impact in reducing mortality rates from cervical cancer.

As an international health affiliate of The Johns Hopkins University, JHPIEGO has been at the vanguard of global efforts to prevent cervical cancer since 1997. JHPIEGO conducted early clinical trials in Zimbabwe and developed an approach to see and treat cervical precancer in one visit. This approach, known as the single visit approach (SVA), is a low-cost and effective intervention to identify and treat precancerous cervical lesions. It is a simple and practical procedure that can be used to significantly reduce rates of invasive cervical cancer in low-resource settings around the world. Currently in Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Malawi, Ghana and South Africa, JHPIEGO is translating these research results into practice by bringing the single visit approach into routine reproductive health services. We work with ministries of health and national stakeholders to implement a sustainable and comprehensive approach to cervical cancer prevention. For women without ready access to health care facilities, this method has the promise of saving countless, vulnerable lives.

http://www.jhpiego.org/centers/cecap.htm