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Review
. 2012 Jan;5(1):11-7.
doi: 10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-11-0540. Epub 2011 Dec 12.

Cervical cancer prevention in low- and middle-income countries: feasible, affordable, essential

Vikrant V Sahasrabuddhe  1 , Groesbeck P Parham, Mulindi H Mwanahamuntu, Sten H Vermund
Affiliations
Review

Cervical cancer prevention in low- and middle-income countries: feasible, affordable, essential

Vikrant V Sahasrabuddhe et al. Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2012 Jan.

Abstract

The annual worldwide burden of the preventable disease cervical cancer is more than 530,000 new cases and 275,000 deaths, with the majority occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), where cervical cancer screening and early treatment are uncommon. Widely used in high-income countries, Pap smear (cytology based) screening is expensive and challenging for implementation in LMICs, where lower-cost, effective alternatives such as visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and rapid human papillomavirus (HPV)-based screening tests offer promise for scaling up prevention services. Integrating HPV screening with VIA in "screen-and-treat-or-refer" programs offers the dual benefits of HPV screening to maximize detection and using VIA to triage for advanced lesions/cancer, as well as a pelvic exam to address other gynecologic issues. A major issue in LMICs is coinfection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and HPV, which further increases the risk for cervical cancer and marks a population with perhaps the greatest need of cervical cancer prevention. Public-private partnerships to enhance the availability of cervical cancer prevention services within HIV/AIDS care delivery platforms through initiatives such as Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon present an historic opportunity to expand cervical cancer screening in LMICs.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A nurse conducts a cervical cancer screening examination in a public sector clinic operated by CCPPZ in Lusaka, Zambia. Nurses use digital cervicography–aided VIA to provide immediate screening results and offer same-visit cryotherapy for eligible VIA-positive women, or they refer advanced lesions to a central hospital for further care.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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