We observe a rise in the deaths of cervical cancer in the uterus in certain groups of women in Canada, in particular 35-44 year olds. Dr. Marc Steben, president of the World Congress on ITS and HIV, which was held in Montreal this week, deplores that Canada does not set up a national strategy to detect the HPV, the main cause of this cancer.
The most recent data show that between 2018 and 2022, more than a quarter of the deaths due to the cervical cancer occurred in women under the age of 50 – and 70 % of deaths occurred in women of admissible age (25 to 69). With the vaccination and the gradual replacement of the PAP test by the HPV test, the detection kits of the human papillomavirus virus (HPV) are a promising strategy to respond to this public health issue. Home -proofs are just as effective as clinical samples. However, a strategy of implanting these sampling kits is slow to take place in Canada.
Dr. Steben denounces a problem of access not only for the screening kits, but especially as for the follow -up which is necessary when a test is positive for HPV. “We are starting to see in two young age groups for women that we go up above 10 [décès] par 100 000 [habitants]. We are far from the elimination to descend to 4 [décès] By 100,000, we really go in the wrong direction, ”says the specialist in an interview. Dr. Marc Steben is involved in this struggle. He is president of the Canadian Network on the Prevention of HPV and the International Society for Research on Sexually Transmitted Diseases (MTS) as well as co -president of HPV Action Global.
“We have been asking for a national strategy for a long time, that we install the self-referral everywhere,” he said. Why are we able to put millions and millions of dollars to have scans and [appareils d’imagerie par résonance magnétique]? They could put a few million to have a pan-Canadian strategy of self-referral, ”he argues.
Help marginalized populations
The autoprender could change the situation for people at risk, often hampered by systemic, cultural or geographic barriers. Itinerant people, indigenous women, low -income immigrants or living in distant regions are among the least detected. Dr. Steben specifies, however, that it is not enough to send them screening kits, it is necessary to adapt the approach according to the particularities of these groups. “There are population strategies that are quite different from general strategies,” he said.
In addition, men are also affected by human papillomavirus viruses. They are more often affected by ENT (Oto-Rhino-Laryngological) cancers than women, and the same HPVs that give cervical cancer are associated with these types of cancer. “In rich countries, we had a crossing of the line between cervical cancer and ENT cancer in men may already be five years ago. And unlike collar cancer, we are not able to screen. We have to make education to recognize the signs of the early symptoms of ENT cancers, ”explains Dr. Steben.
More than 50 % of cases diagnosed before 50 years
Certain provinces, notably the Prince Edward Island and British Columbia, have fairly wide access, even if it is not everyone in the province which can have self-residents. In Quebec, last May, the CIUSSS de l’Estrie – Chus made 1000 HPV tests available, after having been successful in a pilot project carried out in 2022 where 400 women had tested this new way of detecting cervical cancer. The results showed that 96 % of them preferred this approach to a clinical sample.
For the moment, only the self -efficient under supervision case of the Roche Diagnostics company is approved in Canada. This implies that a health professional gives instructions on the patient’s procedure before she can make vaginal sample in clinical areas. When the autoprender gives a positive result, in about 10 % of cases, a second levy will be made by a health professional. This will determine if a colposcopy is necessary.
Since 2015, the incidence of cervical cancer has increased an average of 3.7 % per year in Canada, which represents the first significant increase since 1984. The new cervical cancer rate is the highest in women aged 40 to 44, and more than 50 % of cases are diagnosed before the age of 50. Canada aims to eliminate collar cancer as a public health problem by 2040 with its action plan for the elimination of cervical cancer in Canada 2020-2030.
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Legend and Photo Credit: A Kitting Kit of College Cancer’s Cancer is part of the first self-destination program for cervical cancer in Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia, Tuesday, January 9, 2024. The Canadian press/Ethan Cairns
