Key Summary
- Study urges cervical screening for women over 65 due to ongoing HPV risk
- Older women show higher rates of HPV infection and abnormal cell changes
- WHO aims to eliminate cervical cancer by 2030 through vaccination and screening
An estimated 95 per cent of cervical cancer is caused by HPV, as the abnormal cells accumulate in the cervix lining and grow to become a tumour.
A study published in Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinical Medicines showed that older women have high chances of HPV infections. They also have high tendency to show abnormal cell development compared to younger women.
Due to the backlogs in UK’s healthcare sector, nearly 685 cervical cancer deaths are recorded yearly in England alone.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared that this fatal but preventable illness has affected around 660,000 people and killed 350,000 people globally in 2022 alone.
Although most countries do not recommend cervical screening for people of age 65+, studies still prove that large number of them are affected by this and have succumbed to it.
Out of the 157,182 global cases of cervical cancer in 2022, 124,269 were women of age 65 and above.
Countries like China also have large number elderly victims of cervical cancer.
“There is a largely unvaccinated population who, if under-screened or if they have never attended screening, may well still be at high risk of cervical cancer” commented Athena Lamnisos, chief executive of the Eve Appeal cancer charity.
Therefore, WHO has come up with a global strategy to beat cervical cancer to be achieved by 2030. It aims to vaccinate 90 per cent of girls of all countries with HPV vaccine by the age of 15.
The strategy also includes screening of 70 per cent of women and treatment for 90 per cent of women with the disease.
As per their studies, this could potentially prevent 62 million deaths and 74 million news cases by 2120.
“The NHS cervical screening programme in England follows expert recommendations on age and frequency of screening by the UK National Screening Committee, which are based on regular reviews of the best evidence globally,” said an NHS Spokesperson.
“Women with an HPV-positive screening result at the age of 65 are invited for additional screening to monitor their ongoing risk and we would encourage all women to attend appointments when invited to ensure they have the best protection against cervical cancer,” they added.
