Twelve years into a 16-year randomized controlled study, researchers report that the use of VIA screening by primary health workers in Mumbai, India is showing significant results. Visual inspection of the cervix with ascetic acid (VIA) is an inexpensive screening method, and its low cost makes it a viable option for women in India, many of whom do not have access to Pap smears. The results of this study have shown a statistically significant 31% reduction in cervical cancer mortality ...
News Category: Global
A recently released study on the effectiveness of HPV-based versus cytology-based screening for cervical cancer showed that HPV-based screening provides 60–70% greater protection against invasive cervical carcinomas compared with cytology. The study included several years of follow-up of women in four randomized trials to investigate these outcomes. As the study authors write, “Data of large-scale randomized trials support initiation of HPV-based screening from age 30 years and extension of screening intervals to at least 5 years.
Read the study abstract here:
On April 24 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first FDA-approved HPV DNA test for women 25 and older that can be used alone to help a health care professional assess the need for a woman to undergo additional diagnostic testing for cervical cancer. The test also can provide information about the patient’s risk for developing cervical cancer in the future. This approval “offers women and physicians a new option for cervical cancer screening,” said Alberto Gutierrez, Ph.D., ...
News Category: National
A study published in Genome Research and reviewed in The Scientist explains that researchers at the Ohio State University have determined a new way that HPV might lead to cervical cancer development. Using the supercomputing power available at Ohio State, researchers did extensive genome sequencing, which allowed them to see “in vivid detail that HPV can damage host-cell genes and chromosomes at sites of viral insertion,” said co-senior author David Symer, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of molecular virology, immunology and ...
News Category: National
Data published in Clinical Infectious Diseases show that that the quadrivalent HPV vaccine is safe and immunogenic in women aged 13 to 45 with HIV. As Erna Milunka Kojic, MD, associate professor of medicine at Brown University, told Infectious Disease News, “HIV-infected women carry a disproportionate burden of HPV-associated diseases,” so this new information will benefit an important at-risk group.
Read more about the newly released research on the use of the quadrivalent HPV vaccine in women with HIV:
A $3.6 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will allow the George W. Bush Institute, the CDC and the World Health Organization to work with the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon® initiative to improve the monitoring and evaluation of cervical cancer screening and treatment programs.
The primary activities of this two-year grant include:
The conduct of rapid baseline situational assessments with reports and strategic consultations with countries to process the results and develop recommendations for improved monitoring and evaluation; and The ...
Seventeen patient advocacy groups, including Consumers Union, the Cancer Prevention and Treatment Fund and the National Alliance for Hispanic Health have submitted a letter to the FDA expressing concern over a new HPV DNA test. The test, which would be recommended for women age 25 and older, is currently under FDA review. Opponents of the test cite its expense (much more than a Pap test) and the potential for confusion over screening recommendations, which may lead to over or under ...
News Category: National
On March 12, 2014 a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel unanimously recommended that FDA approve a new HPV DNA test for primary screening of cervical cancer in the US. The new test, developed by Roche, is recommended for women aged 25 and older, and can detect high-risk HPV, as well as high-risk HPV types 16 and 18. Several distinguished guests spoke in favor of HPV primary screening, including Dr. Mark Schiffman from the National Cancer Institute, Dr. Walter ...
News Category: National
Researchers from the University of Manchester, working with Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, have seen success in reversing high- and low-grade pre-cancerous disease of the cervix. Using the HIV antiviral drug lopinavir, a high proportion of women diagnosed with HPV positive high-grade disease returned to normal. Dr. Lynne Hampson, one of the researchers from the University of Manchester’s Institute of Cancer Sciences, notes that further work is needed, “but it looks as though this might be a potential treatment to ...
News Category: Global
Save the date for this great opportunity to learn about what’s going on the immunization world, including updates on the HPV vaccine. The Immunization Action Coalition is hosting a one-hour webinar on Friday, March 14 at 1:00 p.m. ET for immunization coalition leaders, members, and those who collaborate with coalitions. Check back soon for more information, but in the meantime, here’s a sneak peek at the draft agenda:
Ray Strikas, MD, MPH, FACP, medical officer, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory ...News Category: National