Australia Is Close to Eliminating This Cancer Completely

Australia could become the first country to eliminate cervical cancer. In tumor tissue from cervical cancers, 99,9% contain gene fragments belonging to HPV (human papillomavirus) , and HPV is thought to cause more than 95% of this disease. Australia is pioneering a free school-based HPV vaccination program to substantially reduce future cervical cancer rates. The Royal Women’s Hospital is leading this project and predicts that within 40 years, new cervical cancer cases will fall to just a few people.

•  Cervical cancer symptoms and treatment (in detail)

In 2007, the Australian government began providing this preventive vaccine free to girls aged 12-13, followed in 2013 by boys. In 2016, among children aged 15, 76.6% of girls and 72.9% of boys had received the vaccine.

The Study Found:

• Among women aged 18-24, HPV prevalence between 2005 and 2015 fell from 22.7% to 1.1%.

Vaccination rates have risen further since 2015, providing very broad and high levels of protection.

Australia, the country that discovered the cervical cancer vaccine, is also working to develop highly advanced screening tests for early detection of this cancer.

We would like to stress the importance of diligently continuing regular cervical cancer screening for women who did not receive HPV vaccination when young. Even in countries implementing cervical screening most successfully today, only 50-60% of women undergo screening. Even if the HPV vaccine had never been discovered, if screening participation were 100%, cervical cancer would still be almost nonexistent.

• Current Cancer Screening Programs: Which Tests Can Detect Which Cancers Early?

Despite Australia’s promising success, cervical cancer remains common in developing countries and continues to be a major health problem. Existing vaccination programs for girls aged 12-14, the optimal time for vaccine effectiveness, are inadequate across countries. Free government provision could extend vaccination to more people and promisingly reduce cervical cancer rates. The Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation stated that it could help by delivering the HPV vaccine discovered in Australia to developing countries. As the country that invented the vaccine, they feel a responsibility to share it with people worldwide.

•  HPV Vaccination Guidelines Updated! Let Us Take This Opportunity to Learn What the HPV Vaccine Is.          

A Step from the World Health Organization Too:

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative is a comprehensive strategy to reduce cervical cancer cases worldwide and make the disease an entirely preventable health problem. WHO has adopted the "90-70-90" strategy toward this goal: at least 90% of all girls should receive HPV vaccination, at least 70% of women should participate in regular cervical cancer screening, and 90% of diagnosed cases should receive appropriate treatment. By increasing access to screening and treatment, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, this initiative aims to substantially reduce global cervical cancer incidence by 2030. The program emphasizes raising awareness, strengthening health systems, and increasing government investment in vaccination and screening. WHO predicts that successful implementation could make cervical cancer a rare disease by 2050 and save millions of women’s lives.