In February this year, the National Cancer Center released the "Malignant Tumor Disease Burden in China in 2022."
Data show that the risk of malignant tumors among Chinese women increases from the age of 30, and the incidence and mortality of cervical cancer are on the rise.
Here, we give women health tips to avoid cervical cancer.
1. What are the reasons why the incidence of cervical cancer is getting younger?
Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the main causative factor of cervical cancer, especially persistent infection with high-risk HPV.
This virus is mainly transmitted through direct skin/mucosal contact.
Therefore, premature sexual life is an important factor in the incidence of cervical cancer at a younger age.
An increase in the number of sexual partners is also associated with an increased risk of cervical cancer.
As some young people become more and more open about their sexual concepts, the corresponding self-protection awareness and measures may not keep up, increasing the risk of HPV infection.
2. What effective methods are currently available to prevent cervical cancer?
According to cervical cancer epidemiological research, there are two peak periods for high-risk HPV infection in Chinese women. The first peak period is around the age of 20, and the second peak period is around the age of 45.
Tertiary prevention strategies can effectively reduce the incidence and mortality of cervical cancer, namely primary etiological prevention through HPV vaccination, secondary prevention through screening and early detection, and standardized treatment, rehabilitation, and improvement of quality of life. level prevention.
First of all, vaccination against HPV is the first line of defense against cervical cancer and can effectively prevent persistent HPV infection and related cervical lesions.
Currently, the vaccines approved for use by my country’s Food and Drug Administration are targeted at women aged 9 to 45.
The primary target group for HPV vaccination recommended by the World Health Organization is girls aged 9 to 14 years.
Studies have shown that the earlier the vaccine is administered, the higher the level of antibodies it produces and the better the protective effect.
It is most effective for women to get the HPV vaccine before they have sex for the first time.
Secondly, regarding secondary prevention, regular cervical cancer screening is an important means of early detection and treatment of cervical precancerous lesions.
HPV nucleic acid testing is currently the most advanced screening method.
Clinically, it takes at least 5 years for a patient to progress from viral infection to a highly pathological precancerous state and eventually cervical cancer. Therefore, nucleic acid testing can make a timely diagnosis and carry out corresponding treatment to avoid the occurrence of cervical cancer. .
For women who test negative at the same time, the re-screening interval can also be extended to 5 years.
Thirdly, tertiary prevention emphasizes standardized treatment, rehabilitation and improving quality of life.
For patients with diagnosed cervical cancer and precancerous lesions, providing standardized treatment is the key to improving the cure rate and survival rate.
Studies show that at least 90% of patients can reduce mortality after receiving treatment.
In addition, education and publicity should be strengthened to raise public awareness of cervical cancer prevention.
3. What should women of appropriate age pay attention to when choosing the HPV vaccine?
Based on carcinogenicity, HPV is divided into high-risk and low-risk types.
Among them, HPV16 and HPV18 are the two high-risk types with higher carcinogenicity.
In my country, 84.5% of cervical squamous cell carcinoma cases are related to persistent infection with HPV16 and HPV18.
As long as the vaccine can deal with these two types, it is an option.
At present, HPV vaccines using innovative adjuvant systems have been proven to be able to induce protective antibodies at higher levels and maintain them for a longer period of time, and their effects are worthy of recognition.
In fact, the selection of HPV vaccines should not be based on price alone, but should focus on the overall cancer prevention effect and cost-effectiveness of the vaccine on cervical cancer.
The most important thing is to get vaccinated as early as possible.
4. my country attaches great importance to cervical cancer prevention. What work needs to be continued in the future?
Incorporating HPV vaccine into the national immunization program is one of the key measures to prevent cervical cancer.
This ensures that an immune barrier is established through vaccination before a woman is likely to have sex.
Currently, more than 140 countries around the world have included HPV vaccines in their national immunization plans.
In the Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer, the World Health Organization proposed the stage goals to be achieved by 2030: 90% of 15-year-old girls receive HPV vaccine, 70% of adult women receive high-quality cervical cancer screening, and 90% of Patients with cervical cancer and precancerous lesions receive standardized treatment.
The Chinese government responded positively and formulated the "Action Plan to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer (2023-2030)", which aims to establish a multi-departmental comprehensive cervical cancer prevention and control working mechanism, accelerate the elimination process of cervical cancer, and protect and promote women's health. .
At present, a variety of HPV vaccines have been launched in my country, including imported vaccines and domestic vaccines.
It is worthy of recognition that Chinese companies have strong vaccine production capabilities and are fully capable of providing sufficient supply for the primary prevention of cervical cancer.
At the same time, nearly 30 local governments in 10 provinces in my country have taken active actions to provide policy support and financial investment. They have launched projects such as livelihood projects to vaccinate school-age girls with free HPV vaccines.
In addition, since 2009, my country has launched a large-scale organized cervical cancer screening project to provide free screening services to rural women. In 2019, it was included in the national basic public health service project in an effort to improve screening technology and Access to services and greater protection for women.
It is believed that through the joint efforts of all parties to promote vaccination, screening, early diagnosis and early treatment, cervical cancer is expected to become the first malignant tumor that can be eliminated in humans.
Author: Qiao Youlin, expert in the National Health Science Popularization Expert Database and professor at the School of Mass Medicine and Public Health, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College
Planning: Wang Shanshan and Wang Ning
(Healthy China WeChat public account)