Tag : HPV

New Delhi: Globally, 27 per cent of cervical cancer cases are from India which is home to 16-17 per cent of the world's women population. The current estimates indicate approximately 1,00,000 new cases diagnosed and 60,000 deaths annually in India, accounting for nearly a third of the global cervical cancer deaths. Over the past 40 years mortality from carcinoma of the cervix has fallen due to improved treatment and the introduction of national screening programmes. Dr Abhishek Shankar, Assistant Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), says that over 7.4 crore cervical cancer cases and 6.2 crore deaths could be averted in the next 100 years if 78 of the world's poorest countries rapidly deploy HPV vaccinations, cervical screening and cancer treatment report as key interventions of World Health Organization. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 4.1 million women in India have died from the disease since 2019, and without intervention, as many as 5.7 million will die by 2070. Dr Shankar noted: "To eliminate cervical cancer, all countries must reach and maintain an incidence rate of less than four per 1,00,000 women. Three important key pillars and related targets are full vaccination of 90 per cent of girls with the HPV vaccine by the age of 15; screening of 70 per cent of all women using a high-performance test by the age of 35, and again by the age of 45; and treatment of 90 per cent of women with pre-cancer treated and invasive cancer." The AIIMS professor said HPV virus is the prime cause of cervical cancer and also associated with vaginal and vulval cancers, head and neck cancer, ano-rectal cancer and penile cancer. In case of cervical cancer, nearly 90 per cent c ...