Visitors and news

This WHO document brings a new focus to the management of invasive disease in the comprehensive control and eventual elimination of cervical cancer. Aligned with the WHO Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer as a Public Health Problem, it underpins its third pillar and assists countries to reach the target of treating 90% of women diagnosed with invasive cancer. It provides guidance for countries in establishing and strengthening diagnosis, staging, treatment, palliative care and survivorship care to achieve high quality, effective service provision. The importance of enhanced healthcare system supports in implementing cervical cancer management services is also described. Case studies illustrate successes that countries have achieved through thorough cervical cancer control planning and stepwise implementation.
View the publication.

A recent study conducted by scientists from the Screening Group from IARC and collaborators provides new insights into the attitudes and behaviours of general practitioners (GPs) regarding recommending vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) to their patients.
View the IARC News and view the article.

This publication published in Cancers reports the largest and most comprehensive assessment of the role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in head and neck cancer (HNC) in Italy, which is a region currently considered bearing a low burden of HPV-driven HNC. p16INK4a, HPV-DNA, and HPV RNA biomarkers were used to assess the HPV status in head and neck cancer in a retrospective cohort of approximately 700 patients. In our study, HPV prevalence in oropharyngeal cancers was much higher than in oral and laryngeal cancers, and HPV positivity conferred better prognosis only in oropharyngeal cancers. Importantly, we have observed an increase of the prevalence of HPV positivity in oropharyngeal cancers in the most recent calendar periods, suggesting that this disease is increasing in Italy, as has happened before in other developed regions.View the article.

In this video, Dr Partha Basu, Head of the Screening Group at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), presents the Atlas of visual inspection of the cervix with acetic acid for screening, triage, and assessment for treatment and explains important aspects of cervical cancer screening and assessment. This digital atlas is one such important publication that describes the use of visual inspection of the cervix with acetic acid (VIA) as a primary screening test or as a test to triage women who test positive for oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) types, and explains how application of dilute acetic acid to the cervix can help in determining eligibility for ablative treatment. The atlas, which is freely available on the IARC website, was also published on 17 November 2020 to mark the launch of the Global Strategy. View the atlas and the video.

This Summit organized by the Digestive Cancers Europe (DiCE) is for all those who have a stake in colorectal cancer screening – screening agencies, industry, national and regional patient organisations, policy makers and medical experts. Dr Partha Basu, Head of Screening Group, Early Detection & Prevention Section at the International Agency for Research on Cancer will discuss about the importance of colorectal cancer screening, the current landscape and the challenges. View the virtual conference agenda and the registration.

A new study, published in the journal BMC Infectious Diseases by scientists from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and collaborators in Japan, reports that young women vaccinated with the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine had a significantly lower risk of developing cervical precancerous lesions – cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 (CIN2) and CIN3 – compared with an unvaccinated group. In Japan, the incidence rate of cervical cancer has increased continuously since the mid-1990s (with a 4.7% annual increase), and this is associated with an increased mortality rate. The burden of cervical cancer can be decreased through HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening. View the Read IARC Press Release 291 and the publication.

The impact of COVID-19 on global cervical cancer prevention efforts has been wide-ranging, with unclear long-term ramifications. The new TogetHER Interview series provides an opportunity for key leaders in global cervical cancer control to discuss current challenges and provide perspective on where the field needs to go from here. This new installment of the TogetHER Interview series features Dr. Partha Basu, Head of the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s Screening Group. View the interview.

Continuation of the CanScreen5 Train the Trainers African course, with participants from 17 African countries. Participants of this training already completed the following e-learning modules: Principle of cancer screening, planning and implementing a cancer screening programme, and quality of cancer screening programme. Today, Dr Sharon Kapambwe, Cancer Assistant Director, Cancer Control, Ministry of Health, Zambia, addressed a key not lecture about the Zambian experience for cervical cancer screening. Learn more about the CanScreen5 platform and the IARC learning platform.

This virtual conference is organized by the US National Cancer Institute Center for Global Health (CGH) within the London Global Cancer Week 2020. This webinar will showcase examples of global cancer research partnerships and collaborations from the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) perspective. The session will start with an overview of NCI Center for Global Health (CGH) and NCI global health priorities as laid out by CGH Director Satish Gopal, MD, MPH. The session will also include unique viewpoints on building global cancer research collaborations as outlined by NIH-funded cancer researchers and trainees from different regions of the world. The presentations will highlight aspects of partnership-building to advance global cancer research, lessons learned, and recommendations. Dr Partha Basu, Head of Screening Group, Early Detection & Prevention Section at the International Agency for Research on Cancer will discuss about the role of collaborative research to identify effective and affordable technologies and inform global policies in cancer prevention. View more about this virtual conference and free registration.

To mark the official launch by the World Health Organization of the Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is pleased to announce the launch of a new digital atlas, the Atlas of visual inspection of the cervix with acetic acid for screening, triage, and assessment for treatment. The objectives of the new atlas are to describe the use of visual inspection of the cervix with acetic acid (VIA) as a primary screening test or as a test to triage women who test positive for oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) types, and to explain how application of dilute acetic acid to the cervix can help in determining eligibility for ablative treatment. View the digital atlas, the IARC news, the IARC page about WHO Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer.