Too many women are dying from cervix cancer: Problems and solutions

Abstract

One woman dies from cervix cancer every 2 min, adding up to over 270,000 deaths globally per year. This cancer affects a young population, and hence, the loss of life is staggering. There are many aspects of prevention, screening, and care that are suboptimal. A great deal is known about HPV induced carcinogenesis, yet clinical outcomes have been stagnant over decades. There has been no improvement in cervix cancer survival in the US since the mid-1970s [1]. With increased knowledge of the disease and greater worldwide resources including prevention, screening, and improved therapeutics, there is significant promise for fewer women to die from this virally induced cancer. We focus here on the major problems in prevention, screening, and delivery of care for cervix cancer and provide concrete solutions. With appropriate focus, a major improvement in survival from cervix cancer could be achieved in a short time span.

Keywords: Cervix cancer; Chemotherapy; Disparities; Implementation; Radiation.

Figure 1.

Current CCRN sites and worldwide incidences of cervical cancer per 100,000 females (all ages), age standardized to the WHO standard population, 2012 (79).