Cervical Cancer Screening in Developing Countries

Cervical Cancer is an important area of action for any cancer control programme because of the burden of disease, and the potential for effective prevention via screening. It is the second most common cancer among women worldwide. In 2000, there were over 471000 new case diagnosed, and 288000 deaths from cervical cancer worldwide. Approximately 80% of these deaths occurred in developing countries. Cervical cancer is preventable, but most women in poorer countries do not have access to effective screening programmes. This report documents the discussions and findings of an expert consultation called WHO in 2001. The objective of the meeting were: *To develop a position paper on cytology screening in middle-income countries with specific recommendations for improving efficacy and effectives of programmes in this type of setting. *To develop a status report on VIA and HPV screening for cervical cancer which analyzes level of evidence of their efficacy and effectiveness in different resource settings and highlights research issues that still need to be addressed for adequate policy development. *To identify priority areas to be addressed by WHO with its partners. The meeting was organized in three modules, and a chairperson was appointed for each. Dr. Anthony Miller chaired the module on cytology screening, Dr. Rengaswamy Sankaranarayanan the module on visual inspection with acetic acid application (VIA) and Dr. Xavier Bosch the module on human papilloma virus (HPV) screening. I am extremely grateful to each of these distinguished scientists for contributing so much of their time and expertise.