According to the World Health Organization (WHO), these cancers can be completely eliminated through screening and vaccination.
A generalized vaccination "allows to avoid many cancers", argued Emmanuel Macron while the vaccination coverage against the papillomavirus in France is one of the lowest in Europe.
This virus, which affects a large majority of sexually active people, is the cause of various infections of the skin and mucous membranes.
If the papillomavirus is often benign, the infection can persist and lead to pre-cancerous lesions and then to cancer.
Of the 6,000 cancers attributable to such an infection each year in France, the majority concern the cervix, the rest affecting the anus, the ENT sphere, the vulva, the vagina or the penis.
Vaccination is recommended for girls and boys between 11 and 14 years old.
It can also be offered as a catch-up until the age of 19 and remains possible until the age of 26 for men who have sex with men.
When performed before the start of sexual life, the protection conferred by the vaccine against viruses is close to 100%.
In Australia, thanks to vaccination, the rate of infected people fell from 22.7% in 2005-2007 to 1.5% in 2015 among young women aged 18-24.
Forecasts envisage eradication of cervical cancer within 15 years.
In France, at the end of 2021, 37.4% of 16-year-old girls had received two doses of vaccine and among boys 6% had received a dose at 15, according to official figures.
In Finland, Sweden, Hungary, Norway, Spain or the United Kingdom, the vaccination rate for teenagers exceeds 70%.
Unlike other countries, vaccination in France against the papillomavirus is based on a decision by the teenager or his parents to make an appointment with a doctor.
According to Sophie Vaux, program coordinator within the Public Health France organization, "support by school medicine could make it possible to increase vaccination coverage" in France "as has been observed in Australia, Canada, Finland, Norway or Scotland".
© 2023 AFP