(ANSA) – ROME, JANUARY 07 – Even if it is possible to prevent and cure it, cervical cancer is the second cause of death among women of reproductive age who get cancer. According to data from the World Health Organization, 604,000 women worldwide were diagnosed with this disease in 2020, more than half of whom (340,000) died.
Nearly 90% of deaths in 2018 occurred in low- and middle-income countries, due to limited access to public health services and a lack of screening and treatment.
According to the WHO, it is therefore a disease which, like few others, reflects global inequalities but also ” the first form of cancer that can be eliminated ”. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an intergovernmental organization under the auspices of the WHO, cervical cancer can be prevented by vaccination and screening for precursor lesions. To eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem, the global strategy launched by the WHO has set the goal to be achieved for all countries and that is an incidence rate of less than four cases per 100,000 women.
The strategy to be adopted, according to the Organization, is based on some fixed points starting from vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) of 90% of girls before the age of 15. The second is to ensure that 70% of women are screened with a high-performance test before age 35 and then again before age 45. The latest recommendation is that 90% of women with pre-cancer receive treatment and 90% of women with invasive cancer receive adequate care. So the WHO called on all countries to work to improve access to life-saving HPV vaccination and to expand screening, treatment and palliative care by 2030 to eliminate cervical cancer worldwide. (HANDLE).
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