GLOBAL: WHO Issues Guidelines to Reduce Cervical Cancer

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

GLOBAL: WHO Issues Guidelines to Reduce Cervical Cancer

Wall Street Journal (12.16.04) - Monday, December 20, 2004
Associated Press

Cervical cancer kills some 230,000 women worldwide each year, but the number of cases of the largely preventable disease could be reduced through screening and treatment, the World Health Organization said Thursday in its 255-page manual for cervical cancer program implementation. Another half-million cases are diagnosed each year - 80 percent of them in poor countries, said WHO.

Women in the developing world generally lack access to Pap smears, which can reduce the cervical cancer rate by 90 percent. Nearly all cervical cancers are caused by human papillomavirus infections, with HPV-16 accounting for about half of them.

"By 2050, there will be one million new cases of cervical cancer each year in the developing world alone," said Peter Boyle, WHO's cancer research team director. "But cervical cancer is one form of cancer where we can do something about it."

WHO's new manual offers inexpensive strategies for diagnosing and treating cervical cancer, including visual checks and using pressurized gas to freeze pre-cancerous lesions. One test involves a drop of vinegar on the cervix. A physician looks through a scope to see if the area turns white, which could indicate pre-cancerous lesions.

Rates of cervical cancer are highest in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America, said WHO's report. HPV tests cost $20-$40 each, and WHO would like to see tests that are more affordable for use in developing countries. "Up to five dollars would be a reasonable cost," said Dr. Rengaswamy Sankaranarayanan, a WHO expert on cervical cancer screening.
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