Strengthening Global Commitment to Eliminating Cervical Cancer: What Lessons from the Past Can We Apply to the Future?

Cervical cancer (CC) is largely preventable, however, while some high-income countries are nearing elimination status, it remains the leading cause of cancer-related death among women in many low-and middle-income countries (LMIC) [1]. Simms et al showed that with widespread coverage of both HPV vaccination and effective cervical screening by 2020, between 12.5 to 13.4 million cases of CC could be averted by 2070 [2]. This would, in turn, reduce CC incidence to less than four cases per 100 000, and effectively “eliminate” this disease by the end of the century, irrespective of development indices. Today, 85% of women diagnosed with cervical cancer live in LMIC [3] and the striking differences in access to vaccines, screening tests, diagnostic equipment and treatment between high- and low-income countries cannot be ignored. Though not the sole requirement for effective implementation of cancer prevention programs, without these, urgent scale-up required to achieve elimination in some countries will not be feasible.