DENVER – Deaths from cervical cancer, once a leading cause of cancer death among women in the U.S., have dropped dramatically in the past several decades, but more can be done to prevent the disease.
This month is Cervical Health Awareness Month, and the American Cancer Society is highlighting the fact that the great majority of the estimated 12,000 cases and 4,000 deaths from cervical cancers could be prevented with full use of vaccination, regular screening, and treatment.
The death rate from cervical cancer has dropped by more than 50 percent over the past 30 years, thanks in large part to the Pap test. Still, in 2012 about one in 10 women ages 21 to 65 had not been screened for cervical cancer in the past five years.
“That adds up to eight million women in the U.S. who should be screened who have not been,” said Dr. Richard C. Wender, chief cancer control officer for the American Cancer Society. “Combine that with the fact that only one in three girls and one in seven boys is getting fully vaccinated against HPV, the cause of nearly all cervical cancer, and you see the opportunity we’re missing.”
The American Cancer Society recommends the HPV vaccine should be given to girls ages 11 to 12. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other groups recommend routine vaccination for boys, as well. The vaccine is not perfect; women who get the HPV vaccine still need to get regular screening for cervical cancer.
Uninsured women or those without a regular health care provider are significantly less likely to receive cervical cancer screening. Still, studies show about seven in 10 women who had not been screened in the previous five years had a regular doctor and health insurance.
The American Cancer Society recommends women aged 30 to 65 have a human papillomavirus (HPV) test with their Pap test (called “co-testing”) every five years as the “preferred” screening strategy. Women between ages 21 and 29 should have a Pap test every three years.
“The opportunity to prevent death and suffering from cervical cancer is real,” said Dr. Wender. “Screening can find changes in the cervix before they turn into cancer, and vaccination can prevent most cervical cancers. If we can apply what we know, it is possible we may come to a day when cervical cancer is virtually eliminated.”