Cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates are holding steady or falling in most countries across the globe, according to a new analysis. Each country’s socioeconomic development level, cervical cancer screening use, and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates affect the rates. The findings are published online in CANCER.
Cervical cancer can be potentially prevented through screening for and treatment of precancerous lesions and through HPV vaccination. A team led by Mingjuan Jin, PhD, of the Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China, examined information on 31 countries released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The analysis found that cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates were lower in more socioeconomically developed countries. Also, both past and predicted trends appear to be stable or decreasing in most countries, especially in those with effective cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination programs.
Over the past decade, 12 countries had stable cervical cancer incidence rates, while rates fell in 14 and rose in five. Twelve countries had stable mortality rates from cervical cancer, with falling rates in 18 and only one had an increased rate.
The researchers predicted that for 27 countries, most are expected to have stable or decreasing trends over the next 15 years. Ten of the 27 countries are predicted to have stable incidence rates, nine to have decreasing rates, and eight to have increasing rates. Mortality rates are predicted to be stable in 16, decreasing in 10 and one to have an increasing rate.
“Effective cervical cancer screening programs and HPV vaccination should be further popularized to increase their coverage and ultimately decrease cervical cancer’s short-, mid-, and long-term burden,” said Dr Jin.
Source: Wiley Online
