Alarming! Every 8 minutes a woman dies of cervical cancer: AIIMS Experts

Underscoring that cervical cancer is the second most common after breast cancer, Dr Neerja Bhatla, Head of WHO Collaborating Centre for Cervical Cancer at AIIMS on Monday asserted that the incidence rate of the disease will be reduced to just four per lakh if 90 percent of the below-15 years age group girls are vaccinated by 2030. She said that every 8 minutes a woman dies of cervical cancer.

“By 2030, we should meet the targets of vaccinating 90 percent of girls before they reach the age of 15 years, screening 70 percent of women with an HPV test at 35 years and again by the age of 45 years, and ensuring that 90 percent of lesions are treated. This will take us to the goal of reducing the incidence rate of cervical cancer to less than 4 per 100,000 women per year,” Dr Bhatla said.

Highlighting that India contributes to nearly one-fourth of the disease burden, with approximately 127,526 new cases and 79,906 deaths per annum, she said, “The availability of indigenous HPV vaccine and the development of indigenous HPV tests that are suited to India and other LMICs can change the paradigm.

Research from India has contributed to the WHO recommendation for single dose vaccination in young girls. This is not only cheaper but also logistically feasible. Similarly, indigenous HPV tests with fewer genotypes have now been validated, that are affordable, programmatically efficient and feasible to perform in primary care settings, the AIIMS Doctor said.