{"id":26973,"date":"2021-04-19T13:18:50","date_gmt":"2021-04-19T13:18:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org\/?p=18440"},"modified":"2024-11-03T15:14:58","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T15:14:58","slug":"whos-plans-to-create-a-cervical-cancer-free-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/whos-plans-to-create-a-cervical-cancer-free-future\/","title":{"rendered":"WHO\u2019s plans to create a \u2018cervical cancer-free future\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Last year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced an ambitious plan: to create a \u2018cervical cancer-free future\u2019. The potential reward is huge. If we succeed, cervical cancer will become the first cancer to be \u2018eliminated\u2019 on this scale.<\/p>\n

But right now, around the world, someone dies every 2 minutes from cervical cancer, with lower resource countries more heavily impacted by the disease.<\/p>\n

How do we get from figures like that to a world where cervical cancer is \u2018no longer a public health problem\u2019? And why cervical cancer in particular?<\/p>\n

To help us unpick the strategy, we spoke to Professor Peter Sasieni, one of our researchers whose work is focused on cancer prevention, screening and early detection.<\/p>\n

Sasieni has dedicated a large amount of his scientific career to understanding cervical cancer from a population perspective \u2013 understanding the disease not only in terms of its biology, but also in terms of the big picture: who is at greatest risk of getting cervical cancer? And what can society do to reduce that risk?<\/p>\n

Together, we talk through the commitment and innovation that will be needed to ensure this important milestone can become a reality.<\/p>\n

Can cervical cancer be \u2018eliminated as a public health problem\u2019?<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s get down to it \u2013 what does it actually mean to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem?<\/p>\n

There are some important nuances in language that Sasieni highlights here. It\u2019s crucial to differentiate elimination as a public health problem<\/em> as opposed to elimination (or eradication) of the disease<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Eradication of a disease in a country means there are no cases in that country. Smallpox, for example, has been eradicated worldwide. But elimination of a disease as a public health issue means to make it rare enough that it\u2019s seen as something that affects a few individuals rather than a common disease affecting society as a whole.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving no cases left in the world is not WHO\u2019s goal with cervical cancer,\u201d he says. \u201cBut, if fewer than 4 women in every 100,000 worldwide each year were diagnosed with cervical cancer, that would be seen as eliminating it as a public health problem. To get there, we would need to prevent about 70% of cervical cancer around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

So even if we do \u2018eliminate\u2019 cervical cancer, there will sadly still be people who develop it. But the goal is to make that number as small as possible.<\/p>\n

To get there, WHO has devised the 90-70-90 targets around HPV vaccination, cervical screening, and effective treatment. These are milestones to be achieved by 2030 in order to make sure the world is on the right track towards \u2018elimination\u2019.<\/p>\n

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It’s #CervicalCancer<\/a> Awareness Month!<\/p>\n

Cervical cancer could be the first cancer EVER in the world to be eliminated, if<\/p>\n

9⃣0⃣% of girls are vaccinated
7⃣0⃣% of women are screened
9⃣0⃣% of women with cervical disease receive treatment pic.twitter.com\/Ewsm6jN0UT<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) January 8, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Why cervical cancer and why now?<\/h2>\n

\u201cWhy WHO have decided that now is the right time to implement a global strategy to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem is essentially because of the success of the HPV vaccine,\u201d Sasieni explains.<\/p>\n

Cervical cancer is unusual in that virtually all cases are caused by a virus called human papillomavirus (HPV), making it one of the most preventable cancer types.<\/p>\n

HPV is an extremely common infection that infects the skin and cells lining the inside of the body. In most people, it doesn\u2019t cause any problems at all.<\/p>\n

There are over 100 types of the virus, and around 13 strains are known to be linked to cancer. \u201cThese strains can live in the cervix without you knowing for years and years, and then suddenly start causing a major health issue,\u201d says Sasieni.<\/p>\n

The link between HPV and<\/span> cervical cancer was<\/span> established<\/span> i<\/span>n 1999,<\/span> when<\/span> a group of scientists, including Cancer Research UK scientist Professor Julian Peto, found that virtually all cervical cancer samples<\/span> contained the virus.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Together, researchers proved that<\/span> some<\/span> HPV<\/span> strains can cause<\/span> cervical cancer. This was, and remains to this day<\/span>,<\/span> the risk factor that causes the largest proportion of a specific cancer worldwide<\/span>.<\/span> And it also gave scientists a<\/span> new<\/span> potential way to prevent the disease.<\/span><\/p>\n

Years of international work<\/span>, including a number of<\/span> significant results<\/span><\/a> from our<\/span><\/a> scientists<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> resulted in the development of a<\/span> number of<\/span> vaccine<\/span>s<\/span> that can prevent HPV infection<\/span>.<\/span> And after many promising signs,<\/span> in 2020<\/span><\/a> the world got the first<\/span> definitive evidence that vaccination could also<\/span> reduce cervical cancer risk.<\/span><\/p>\n

But vaccination is only part of the equation<\/span>,<\/span> Sasieni<\/span> explains.<\/span> \u201c<\/span>R<\/span>elying only on vaccination means you\u2019re looking at elimination in only<\/span> people who have received the vaccine<\/span> before exposure to HPV infection<\/span>.<\/span> So<\/span> it\u2019s important to have a combined strategy because otherwise you would only remove the disease amongst<\/span> those<\/span> people<\/span>, which at the moment<\/span> doesn\u2019t include people<\/span> over about 30<\/span>,<\/span> because of when vaccination started<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

So<\/span> as well as the current vaccination programme, the strategy outlines how to effectively implement cervical screening across the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Screening and vaccination in the UK<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n