Cancer screening at a reproductive health centre in central Da Nang (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) - More than 500 doctors and health officialsparticipated in a series of recent seminars on updates on national guidelineson cervical cancer screening.
“Cervical cancer is a serious disease, but we can prevent it, reduce themortality and medical burden for patients, their family and society if thedisease can be detected early,” Assoc Prof Luu Thi Hong, general secretary ofthe Vietnam Association of Gynecologists and Obstetrics, said.
The Ministry of Health has issued a recommendation to use HPV as the primaryscreening test for cervical cancer to help women prevent the disease and have anentire healthy and happy life, she said.
“It is also a mission of healthcare authorities, healthcare organisations andwhole community.”
In response to a national action plan for cervical cancer prevention andcontrol in 2016-25, Roche Vietnam in collaboration with medical organisationsand local and international healthcare experts organised the seminars on “HPVDNA primary testing: From recommendations to clinical practice” from June 15 to17 in Hanoi, Da Nang, and HCM City.
Cervical cancer can be prevented if detected early, and HPV testing reveals inthe early stages if someone is at risk.
According to the guidelines issued by the ministry, HPV testing has beenrecommended as a primary test in cervical cancer screening since 2016.
An HPV test can detect high-risk HPV and help doctors evaluate whether a womanis at risk of cervical cancer so that she can be monitored and treatedappropriately and in time.
It is estimated that around 500,000 women world-wide are diagnosed with thedisease every year and half of them die, with the vast majority of deathsoccurring in developing countries.
In Vietnam, there are more than 5,000 new cases of cervical cancer annually andmore than 2,500 deaths.
Cervical cancer is the second most common gynaecological cancer and a mainreason is due to persistent infection by the human papilloma virus (HPV).
There are over a hundred different HPV types. Of them, 14 are considered to behigh risk, causing more than 99 percent of cervical cancers. And two of themposing the highest risk are HPV 16 and HPV 18, which cause more than 70 percentof cervical cancers.
Women infected with HPV 16 and/or HPV 18 have a 35 percent higher risk ofdeveloping cervical cancer.-VNA
VNA
