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| Health leaders convene in Korea to save women¡¯s lives by preventing HPV |
- Cervical cancer, caused by HPV infection, second most common
Dr. John Clemens, Director-General of the IVI, delivers opening remarks The IVI convened a two-day symposium of 150 experts, policymakers, and decision makers from more than 36 countries from the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions during June 1-2 to develop solutions to expand vaccination programs to fight Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and its related diseases, including cervical cancer—a major killer of women globally and in both regions. After examining issues surrounding HPV vaccination implementation, participants were ¡®called to action¡¯ to forge necessary partnerships to expedite vaccination strategies. In the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions, the majority of deaths from HPV occur in women in developing countries who do not have access to preventative health services, most notably, cervical cancer screening programs. Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer affecting women in these regions. HPV has been demonstrated to be the cause of more than 99 percent of cases of cervical cancer, and is one of the most common viruses infecting humans. Diseases caused by HPV include cancers of the cervix, vagina, vulva, penis and anus; a subset of head and neck cancers; anogenital warts; and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. In the Asia Pacific and Middle East regions, there are 1.3 billion women ages 15 years or older who are at risk of developing cervical cancer. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that every year there are more than 265,000 cases of cervical cancer in these regions; over 140,000 women die annually. Deaths from cervical cancer in these regions represent over 50 percent of all cervical cancer deaths globally, of which one third stem from Southern Asia (at 85,192) .
Dr. Yang Baoping, Regional Advisor for the WHO Regional Office There are two available HPV vaccines: the quadrivalent vaccine and the bivalent vaccine. Prophylactic HPV vaccines have a proven high efficacy among HPV-naïve women, and are expected to prevent up to 70 percent of cervical cancers among vaccinated women. Most HPV infections have no signs or symptoms and therefore, most infected are unaware. In April of this year WHO published a position paper recommending the introduction of routine HPV vaccines into national immunization programs in countries where the prevention of cervical cancer and/or other HPV-related diseases is a public health priority; vaccine introduction is programmatically feasible; sustainable financing can be secured; and the cost-effectiveness of vaccination strategies in the country or region has been duly considered. The GAVI Alliance has prioritized HPV vaccines for possible support and in November of this year the GAVI Board will consider an implementation plan for this support. ¡°Prior to the availability of preventative vaccines, HPV presented a daunting public health problem,¡± stated Dr. F. Xavier Bosch, Chief of the Catalan Institute of Oncology in Spain. ¡°Now, with the achievement of proven-effective vaccines, we have an opportunity to intercept the cause of one of the most common cancers found in women.¡±
Dr. N.K. Ganguly, former Director-General of the Indian Council Participants also had a chance to learn about country experiences with vaccine introduction from countries that have already introduced an HPV vaccine. To date, HPV vaccination has been introduced in Australia, Taiwan and Turkey among others. ¡°There are more than 100 strains of HPV but only a handful cause cancer,¡± notes Dr. Linda Eckert, Scientist at WHO Initiative for Vaccine Research. ¡°Women who do not have access to regular screenings are at higher risk of developing cervical cancer as there are no warning signs until the cancer has become life-threatening. Widespread vaccination could help minimize the health access disparities in high and low-income countries.¡± According to WHO, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer found in women globally. Approximately 500,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and a quarter of a million deaths from the disease each year. In fact, around the world, one woman dies every two minutes from cervical cancer. The IVI hosted the symposium with participation from WHO and PATH.
¡®Preparing for the Introduction of HPV vaccines: Policy and Programme Guidance for Countries¡¯ - WHO and UNFPA ¡®Human Papillomavirus Vaccines WHO Position Paper¡¯ – WHO |
