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 in the group that has received VIA screening, compared to the control group. Based on these statistics, the authors of the study assert that VIA screening is an easily implementable strategy that could prevent 22,000 cervical cancer deaths in India and 72,600 deaths in resource-poor countries annually.
Read the study abstract here:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24563518