Nearly 500,000 new cases of
cervical cancer and 274,000
cervical cancer deaths are occurring worldwide each year. Approximately 80% of the 500,000 new cases occur in developing countries and this percentage is expected to increase to 90% by 2020. In developing countries,
cervical cancer tends to affect relatively young poor women and is the single largest cause of years of life lost to
cancer, since screening and treatment programs, and health care, in general, are relatively inaccessible to these women. Each 5-year delay in vaccinating women against HPV may lead to the deaths of 1.5 to 2 million women from
cervical cancer in developing countries. The high efficacy of the two available
cervical cancer vaccines and their proven ability to reduce the incidence of
cervical cancer precursor lesions offer hope that the
vaccine will have enormous worldwide impact and may dramatically reduce the
cervical cancer burden. The current
vaccines protecting against HPV-16 and HPV-18 may prevent up to 70% of new
cervical cancers.
Vaccine cross-reactivity for HPV-31, -33, -45, and -52 suggest that an even higher percentage of
cervical cancers might be prevented with its use. Currently, the prohibitive cost of the
vaccine precludes its widespread implementation. Cooperation between governments, international health organizations, and the
vaccine industry is needed to overcome this significant barrier so that women are no longer denied a potentially life-saving advance. Worldwide HPV vaccination and
cervical cancer screening should be made an international priority.