Research on low-cost cervical cancer detection: AIIMS
The AIIMS and the WHO’s International Agency for Research in Cancer (IARC) collaborated to begin a multi-center project on Friday with funding from DBT-BIRAC Grand Challenges India with the goal of developing and validating low-cost, point-of-care indigenous HPV tests for the identification of cervical cancer.
Three indigenous human papillomavirus (HPV) tests will have validation studies conducted at AIIMS, New Delhi; National Institute of Cancer Prevention Research, Noida; and National Institute for Research in Reproductive and Child Health, Mumbai, according to Dr. Neerja Bhatla, Chief Coordinator of the Programme and former head of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at AIIMS, Delhi, who made this announcement on Friday.
HPV testing are currently costly and need complex laboratory setups. According to her, in order to be qualified by the WHO and have the required quality assurance, they must be verified to meet international standards.
Almost 80 percent of the illness burden is attributed to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), such as India. According to Dr. Bhatla, there are around 1,27,526 new cases and 79,906 fatalities in India annually.
In light of this, the World Health Organization (WHO) established the “Call For Elimination of Cervical Cancer,” which India has joined, with the goal of eradicating cervical cancer worldwide. We should reach our goals of vaccinating 90% of girls and screening 70% of women by 2030, the speaker said. According to her, cervical cancer is treatable and preventive if caught in its precancerous or early stages.
Cervical cancer has been shown to be a required cause of persistent high-risk HPV infection. As a result, the WHO advises HPV testing as part of the eradication plan between the ages of 35 and 45.
It is imperative to develop and verify low-cost, point-of-care indigenous HPV tests that can identify the key HPV genotypes that cause cancer in the Indian population in order to meet the 2030 objectives and include HPV testing into the National Program, according to Dr. Bhatla.
“A woman dies of cervical cancer every two minutes.”
Cervical cancer ranks fourth among female cancers worldwide. After breast cancer, it is the second most frequent cancer among women in India. According to Dr. Bhatla, a woman worldwide passes away from cervical cancer every two minutes. Globally, an estimated 6,63,301 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2022, and around 3,48,874 women lost their lives to the illness, according to GLOBOCAN 2022.
