TITLE:
Prevention of Cervical Cancer
AUTHORS:
Yaa Achampong, Fani Kokka, Konstantinos Doufekas, Adeola Olaitan
KEYWORDS:
Cervical Cancer, HPV, Vaccine, Screening
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Cancer Therapy,
Vol.9 No.1,
January
29,
2018
ABSTRACT: Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in
women and is responsible for 275,000 deaths worldwide each year. The burden of
this disease lies in the developing world. However it is arguably the most
preventable cancer. The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is responsible for almost all cases of Cervical
Cancer. HPV is sexually transmitted and has a lifetime cumulative risk of
infection of 80%. National Cervical cytology screening programmes are used to
detect cervical abnormalities, lesions and early cancers in as many eligible
women as possible, saving lives and reducing morbidity. However uptake of
screening is declining, and screening programmes have not been implemented in
lower resource countries due to the cost and infrastructure required. Alternative
screening methods have been implemented in such countries such as Visual
Inspection with Acetic acid (VIA) but mortality and morbidity remain high.
Since 2007, programmes of vaccination against the most oncogenic types of HPV
have been rolled out internationally aiming to capture girls, and eventually potentially
boys, before they become sexually active. These programmes have been largely
successful, with good coverage and low adverse effects reported. Going forward,
the vaccine and the advent of effective HPV screening and self testing mean that there needs to be a reorganisation of current cervical screening
programmes.