About 9.6 million women in low and middle income countries will need radiation therapy to treat their cervical cancer in the next 20 years, despite the growth of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programs, as warned a study of University Health Network (Canada) that has been published in the magazine 'The Lancet Oncology'.
The work modeled the demand, benefit and long-term cost of implementing a 20-year strategy of radiotherapy to treat cervical cancer in low- and middle-income countries between 2015 and 2035, along with a vaccination program simultaneous According to their findings, the availability of radiotherapy in these regions would generate millions of years of productive life and 151,500 million dollars (135,000 million euros) in economic benefits for their families and communities.
Vaccination against HPV would result in a 3.9 percent reduction in the incidence of cervical cancer during the study period, assuming the best possible scenario of vaccinating every 12-year-old girl in the world as of 2014 By the year 2072, when the first vaccinated cohort reaches 70 years of age, there would be a 22.9 percent reduction in incidence, still leaving 41.6 million people who would need radiotherapy during that time period.
“These are women in the prime of life who work, take care of children and contribute to their communities. We have made great progress in the fight against other infectious diseases and in the reduction of maternal mortality, so that women now live enough to develop diseases such as cancer and heart disease, “explains Dr. Danielle Rodin, clinical-researcher and oncologist.
In this context, he acknowledges that vaccination is “very important”, but that one can not “neglect the millions of women who get cervical cancer and die of pain without access to treatment.” “They are women who have curable cancers; Even advanced cervical cancer can be cured with radiation therapy. There is the possibility of making this treatment universally available, “he concludes.