Cervical cancer poses a serious threat to global health, killing more than 300,000 women each year. It is a disease that disproportionately affects women in low- and middle-income countries in equatorial Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. Yet it is a preventable disease and decades of research have produced the tools needed to eliminate it.
Aware of this urgent public health issue, the editorial team of Preventive medecine, led by Editor-in-Chief Dr. Eduardo Franco, Director of the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Director of the Gerald Bronfman Department of Oncology at McGill University, publishes a special issue entitled “From science to action and impact: eliminating cervical cancer“, which describes the steps to take to eliminate cervical cancer.
The publication of the journal coincides with International HPV Awareness Day, March 4, and is dedicated to the more than half a million women affected by cervical cancer each year. Its publication follows the official launch last November of the World Health Organization (WHO) strategy to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer. The strategy sets out targets that all countries must achieve by 2030: 90 percent vaccination coverage against human papillomavirus (HPV) to prevent infections that cause cervical cancer, 70 percent for 100 percent screening coverage and 90 percent access to treatment for women diagnosed with cervical disease.
Dr Linda Nicolai And Dr. Anna Giuliano, two giants in the field of cervical cancer prevention research, served as guest editor of the issue. Dr. Niccolai, professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, director of the Connecticut Emerging Infections Program and member of the Yale Cancer Center, and Dr. Giuliano, director of the Center for Immunization and Infections Research cancer and professor in the Department of Cancer Epidemiology at Moffitt Cancer Center, has assembled an exceptional group of international scientists and practitioners who have written about basic science, clinical medicine, public health practice and modeling mathematical, all focused on the targeted action needed in each of these areas to achieve cancer elimination.
In their editorial, Drs. Niccolai and Giuliano emphasize that in addition to public health and clinical resources for research and health care, it is essential that government officials take a strong stance. “We have all the tools necessary to eliminate cervical cancer: vaccination, screening and treatment, both primary and secondary prevention,” explains Dr. Niccolai. “What we need now is the commitment of political, medical and public health leaders to make this happen. » A special issue of Preventive medecine outlines the action plan needed to eliminate HPV-related cancers, starting with cervical cancer. Vaccine, testing and treatment are all three elements needed simultaneously to achieve success.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created both challenges and opportunities for global efforts to conduct HPV testing and vaccination. “The pandemic has taught us to be agile and creative, and to work towards health promotion in the most difficult circumstances. This has forced us to rethink how we deliver health care, including preventative services,” says Dr. Niccolai. “It also highlighted to the public the powerful potential of vaccines to protect our health. »
