Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 May;31(3):e55.
doi: 10.3802/jgo.2020.31.e55. Epub 2020 Feb 26.

National screening programs for cervical cancer in Asian countries

Eiko Saitoh Aoki  1 , Rutie Yin  2 , Kemin Li  3 , Neerja Bhatla  4 , Seema Singhal  4 , Dwiana Ocviyanti  5 , Kumiko Saika  6 , Mina Suh  7 , Miseon Kim  8 , Wichai Termrungruanglert  9
Affiliations

National screening programs for cervical cancer in Asian countries

Eiko Saitoh Aoki et al. J Gynecol Oncol. 2020 May.

Abstract

Cervical cancer is still one of the most common female cancers in Asia and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in low- and middle-income countries. Nowadays, national screening programs for cervical cancer are widely provided in Asian countries. We reviewed the National Cancer Screening Program (NCSP) in China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, and Thailand. The NCSP were established at varying times, from 1962 in Japan to 2014 in Indonesia. The primary screening method is based on cytology in all countries except for India and Indonesia. In India and Indonesia, visual inspection of the cervix with acetic acid (VIA) is mainly used as a primary screening method, and a "see and treat" strategy is applied to women with a positive VIA result. The starting age of NCSP ranges from 18 years in China to 30 years in Thailand. The screening interval is 2 years in all countries except for China and Indonesia, in which it is 3 years. Uptake rates of NCSP vary from 5.0%-59.7%. Many women in low- and middle-income countries still do not participate in NCSP. To improve uptake rates and thereby prevent more cases of cervical cancer, Asian countries should continue to promote NCSP to the public using various approaches.

Keywords: Asia; Cancer Screening; Cervical Cancer; National Health Programs.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

References

    1. Bray F, Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, Siegel RL, Torre LA, Jemal A. Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin. 2018;68:394–424. - PubMed
    1. Arbyn M, Raifu AO, Weiderpass E, Bray F, Anttila A. Trends of cervical cancer mortality in the member states of the European Union. Eur J Cancer. 2009;45:2640–2648. - PubMed
    1. Jemal A, Ward E, Thun M. Declining death rates reflect progress against cancer. PLoS One. 2010;5:e9584. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wingo PA, Cardinez CJ, Landis SH, Greenlee RT, Ries LA, Anderson RN, et al. Long-term trends in cancer mortality in the United States, 1930-1998. Cancer. 2003;97:3133–3275. - PubMed
    1. Huh WK, Ault KA, Chelmow D, Davey DD, Goulart RA, Garcia FA, et al. Use of primary high-risk human papillomavirus testing for cervical cancer screening: interim clinical guidance. Obstet Gynecol. 2015;125:330–337. - PubMed