The Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI), which is India’s largest body representing medical experts working in private and public sectors to improve women’s health, has revealed that over 77,000 Indian women lose their lives every year due to cervical cancer. Based on this, FOGSI has urged the government of India to include the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in the National Health Programme to reduce the burden cervical cancer places on the nation’s women.
Cervical cancer is a type of cancer that starts in the cells of the cervix, the lower end of the uterus, and can be caused by different strains of HPV. Around 1,20,000 women in India are estimated to develop cervical cancer every year, out of whom, 77,000 succumb to the disease. Experts also reveal that around 453 million women aged 15 years and above are at a risk of developing cervical cancer during their lifetime. In recent times, many HPV vaccines have been developed—including CERVEVAC by the Serum Institute of India—which can potentially prevent cervical cancer cases if administered compulsorily to all women.
The FOGSI organised an event, titled Accelerating Action for Cervical Cancer Mukt Bharat, at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) recently to discuss how to accelerate efforts to eliminate cervical cancer from the nation. “So much morbidity and mortality due to cervical cancer is needless. What begins as mild dysplasia takes 10 to 20 years to turn into cervical cancer,” says Dr Shantha Kumari, President of FOGSI. “This long progression makes the disease entirely preventable. What is needed is regular screening to detect precancerous lesions for early diagnosis treated in a timely manner to prevent their progression into cancer. Yet just screening is not enough. We also require widespread immunization with the HPV vaccine. This can prevent most cases of cervical cancer, and other cancers caused by HPV, if given to women and girls before they get exposed to the virus. We at FOGSI and other like-minded associations would like to see Government of India include the HPV vaccine in the National Programme.”
“India is now on its way to universalizing the national-level HPV vaccination program to prevent cervical cancer,” says Dr Neerja Bhatla, Head of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, AIIMS. “Recently, a made-in-India HPV vaccine, Cervavac, was introduced after conducting a large multi-centric trial. It is considered safe, highly effective, and affordable. Efforts are also being made to develop an affordable point-of-care indigenous HPV test to ensure universal cervical-cancer screening. With this, there is new hope to make rapid progress towards elimination of cervical cancer in India.”