TODAY, November 17, is World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day. It has been since, two years ago on this day, the World Health Organization launched a global strategy to accelerate the elimination of this disease, which today still poses a real threat to women of childbearing age and can be prevented. Italy, today, is not only behind the prevention objectives set at national and international level, but has not yet recovered the numbers of pre-pandemic screening and vaccinations. We need to act immediately, and to do so the associations have turned directly to the Government.
Cervical cancer, the HPV vaccine could prevent recurrence
by Valentina Guglielmo
The commitment to the elimination of HPV-related cancers
Cervical cancer belongs to a class of tumors caused by the same pathogen, the human papilloma virus (HPV). The other most common are cancer of the anus, vagina, vulva, penis, and head and neck region (especially the oropharynx). Last year, on 4 March 2021, numerous associations – including the Umberto Veronesi Foundation, the Italian Federation of Volunteer Associations in Oncology, the IncontraDonna Foundation, CittadinanzAttiva, ThinkYoung, the National Youth Council and the Italian League for the fight against i Tumori and ACTO – Alliance Against Ovarian Cancer – have signed a Manifesto which collects a series of objectives regarding primary and secondary prevention in the face of statistical data on diseases connected to the Papilloma virus in Italy and in Europe. Today, the same organizations have decided to update the document and present it to the Government.
“Two years after the WHO call to action and following the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on cancer prevention activities – say the signatories of the Manifesto – it is now essential to make Italy the first European country to defeat related HPV tumours, providing for defined actions and times in line with the international strategy”.
The prevention strategy
All cancers caused by HPV infection are preventable, both primarily through HPV vaccination and through preventive screening and testing. Despite this, however, in Europe and Italy the incidence of diseases caused by the HPV virus is still significant for both men and women. In our country there are almost 5 thousand new cases of cancer every year, 2400 of which in 2020 concerned cervical cancer. And the 5-year survival rate, which remains stable at around 68%, is still too low considering that it is a preventable disease.
To inform and disseminate an effective prevention plan, therefore, the European Commission has prepared a dedicated action plan for the elimination of papillomavirus-related tumors, the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. The aim is to support EU member states in vaccination strategies for girls and boys, in order to reach 90% coverage and allow 90% of the target population access to cancer screening.
HPV: how many throat cancers could be avoided?
by Tina Simoniello
The situation in Italy
According to the latest data on prevention (primary and secondary) published by the Ministry of Health, it emerges that our country still has a lot to do to achieve national (which aim to provide 95% coverage for males and females) and international targets. Not only that, in the two-year period of the pandemic the number of screenings (both those planned by the national health service and spontaneous ones) has worsened compared to previous years: 77% of women between 25 and 64 years of age underwent cervical screening ( Pap-test or HPV test) in 2020-2021, about 3% less than in the previous three-year period. The same is also happening with regard to vaccination adherence, where coverage rates have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. At the end of 2021, according to data published by the Ministry of Health, 32.22% of eleven year olds were vaccinated with a complete cycle, against 41.6% in 2019, while 26.75% were vaccinated among eleven year old boys. compared to 32.25% in 2019. The coverage for complete cycle in the cohort of fifteen-year-olds – used by the WHO as a reference in its statistics – is instead around 70.55%.
In the light of these data, the Associations that have signed the manifesto are addressing the executive directly: “As is already happening in other countries, an intervention by the Italian Government is needed so that we can continue with strength and promptness towards national and international objectives – they argue – this is a public health battle for a goal that is achievable today: eliminating cancers caused by papillomaviruses”.