BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Elimination of Cervical Cancer by 2050: reality or wishful thinkin
 g - Professor Margaret Stanley OBE
DTSTART:20181024T163000Z
DTEND:20181024T180000Z
UID:TALK113518@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Clare Kitcat
DESCRIPTION:Every 2 minutes somewhere in the world a woman dies of cervica
 l cancer a preventable disease. This cancer is caused by infection with a 
 virus the human papillomavirus\, HPV\; it is a cancer with detectable and 
 treatable precancerous states and therefore one which can be effectively p
 revented by vaccination and screening. - Highly safe and effective vaccine
 s that can prevent the majority of HPV infections that cause cervical and 
 other HPV-associated cancers are available they are being implemented in m
 any\, mainly high income (HIC) countries and we know that they are hugely 
 effective. - Tests for screening and detection and methods to treat cervic
 al pre-cancerous lesions have been in place for decades in HIC and are pro
 ven to reduce cervical cancer incidence. - Combining HPV vaccination at hi
 gh coverage for adolescents and high coverage of cervical screening\, with
  appropriate treatment of all women\, could eliminate cervical cancer as a
  public health problem.  –Indeed recent modelling suggests that\, with t
 he tools available\, elimination of cervical cancer in local populations i
 s achievable within our lifetime. Certainly in the UK if the current cover
 age for HPV vaccination and screening is maintained cervical cancer could 
 be eliminated in public health terms by 2050. But to achieve this globally
 \, these primary and secondary interventions for prevention will need to b
 e expanded\, to include those not currently vaccinated or screened and thi
 s means women in low and middle income countries (LMIC). These are big cha
 llenges. Broad dissemination of HPV vaccines has been achieved in some low
  and high resource countries\, but needs to be scaled up globally\, to rea
 ch the majority of age eligible individuals. Strengthening of cervical can
 cer screening strategies in LMIC has proved hugely difficult in the past 2
 -3 decades and may be insuperable without economic development in the poor
 est regions. Vaccination with high enough coverage could in time make cerv
 ical cancer a disease of historic interest only\, this is achievable but d
 oes require international collaboration and a collective will.  Allowing w
 omen to rot to death from a preventable cancer should not be tolerated in 
 the 21st century.
LOCATION:Yusuf Hamied Theatre\, Christ's College
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR