LONDON and GENEVA, Dec. 13 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- The introduction of new
vaccines against Human Papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that causes cervical
cancer, could have a major impact on the health of women in the developing
world. More than 250 000 women died from cervical cancer in 2005 -- the vast
majority in developing countries.
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Cervical cancer is the second most common type of cancer among women,
with deaths projected to rise by almost 25 per cent over the next 10 years,
according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In 2005 there were more
than 500 000 new cases of cervical cancer, of which over 90 per cent were in
developing countries. Left untreated, invasive cervical cancer is almost
always fatal.
Well-organized screening and early treatment programmes have been very
effective in preventing the most common kind of cervical cancer but they are
costly and difficult to implement in low-resource settings. In 2006, a
vaccine that protects against infection and disease associated with the HPV
was licensed, and another vaccine may be licensed soon.
The recently licensed vaccine is effective in preventing infections with
the HPV types (16 and 18) that cause approximately 70 percent of all cervical
cancers, as well as in preventing infections with those types (6 and 11) that
cause approximately 90 percent of genital warts. This and another HPV
vaccine are under regulatory review in countries around the world and may
offer a new opportunity to eliminate cervical cancer, the number-two cancer
killer of women.
"New vaccines against HPV in the developing world could save hundreds of
thousands of lives if delivered effectively," said Dr Howard Zucker, WHO
Assistant Director-General for Health Technology and Pharmaceuticals. "The
roll-out of effective HPV vaccines is important for several reasons: They
help in combating a deadly cancer and are a potent technology to add to
existing cancer control programmes based on prevention, screening and
treatment."
The vaccines -- which are initially targeted at girls and may be expanded
to boys in the future before or around the time of first sexual activity --
offer the unique opportunity to address segment of the populations that are
traditionally difficult to reach: young adolescents. Thus, a multifaceted
strategy should exploit the opportunity to promote sexual and reproductive
health by strengthening health programmes for adolescents.
"We don't know the final cost of the vaccine in developing countries,"
said Arletty Pinel, Chief, Reproductive Health Branch of UNFPA. "But, we can
be certain it is going to be a major challenge to introduce quickly where it
is needed most -- in the poorest countries. Eighty per cent of women who die
of cervical cancer are generally poor and live in underserved areas. They
will be the ones to benefit most from affordable prices and access to this
vaccine."
Mobilizing resources for strengthening health systems and purchasing HPV
vaccines, both nationally and internationally, must be a priority and there
must be innovative ways to finance HPV introduction. At an international
level, partnerships will be needed to try to reduce the usual time-lag
between formal registration and availability in developed countries, and
establishing a negotiated price and adequate production capacity to supply
developing countries.
In addition to being a new tool for the prevention of a very common form
of cancer, the introduction of effective HPV vaccines has other potential
benefits for health systems in general. The roll out of such vaccines could
help build synergies among immunization, cancer control and sexual and
reproductive health. It also has the potential to provide valuable
experience for the introduction of any future vaccine against HIV.
