Sunday, September 24, 2006 1 woman dies of cervical cancer every 2 minutes: study
For every two minutes, a woman dies of cervical cancer.
And of the total number of woman who succumbs to the disease, more than 80% come from developing countries like the Philippines.
In an effort to lower the number of cervical cancer patients, British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has made a breakthrough by developing a vaccine for the prevention of the disease, the second most common type of cancer among women after breast cancer.
As of last July 12, the vaccine showed 100% protection against pre-cancerous lesions over a four-and-a-half-year-study, GSK reported.
It was also believed to have sustained antibody levels against human papillomavirus (HPV) 16 and 18 with the respondents showing “robust immune memory response.”
Most common
HPV 16 and 18 are two of the most common contagious viruses that cause cervical cancer. These cover 70% of all cervical cancers worldwide.
This is why GSK is targeting the two HPVs in a bid to stop at least 70% of future cervical cancer patients.
GKS believes that more cases occur in developing countries “partially due to the lack of effective screening programs which can detect the early cervical cell abnormalities.”
Cervical cancer, though, is highly curable if detected early, thus the need for screenings.
Test
The most reliable way to detect early cervical cancer is through a Pap smear test, which checks changes in the cells of the cervix.
Dr. Cecilia Ladines Llave, chairperson of the University of the Philippines - Philippine General Hospital Cancer Institute also suggests acetic acid screening.
Sexual initiation
Factors that can lead to women being at risk with cervical cancer include having sexual initiation at an early age, having a high number of pregnancies (three or more live births), smoking, long term use of oral contraceptives and sexually transmitted infections such as HIV, among others.
“A woman’s first Pap smear should be done three years after the first vaginal intercourse,” said Belinda Pañares, chairperson of the Department of Obstretics and Gynecology of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC).
If the Pap smear test is negative for three consecutive years, then it can be done every two or three years.
Globally, an estimated 500,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year while deaths are recorded at more than 270,000.
In the Philippines, cervical cancer has a low survival rate, with 73 percent of Filipino women dying within five years of diagnosis. (JGA)
