Date:01/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/01/stories/2008120155400600.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

‘Vaccination key to prevent cancer’

Special Correspondent

-Photo: G. Krishnaswamy

For health: Quek Chong Swee interacts with the participants of the annual conference of Association of Gynaecologic Oncologists of India in Hyderabad on Sunday.

HYDERABAD: With India home to one-fifth of the world’s cervical cancer cases, an expert has called for varied screening methods and preventive vaccination to curb the disease.

Apart from vaccinating those between 9 and 26 years against HPV (Human Papilloma Virus), screening techniques like Pap smear, Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA), HPV testing could be adopted, depending on their availability, said Quek Swee Chong, senior consultant and head, pre-invasive and screening unit, Department of Gynaecological Oncology, K. K. Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore.

Dr. Chong, who attended the three-day 17th annual conference of the Association of Gynaecologic Oncologists of India (AGOICON-2008), which concluded here on Sunday, said real prevention would come from HPV vaccination.

He said 15 sub-types of HPV were known to cause cervical cancer, with two of them---subtypes 16 and 18---responsible for 70 per cent of the incidence. The vaccine acted against the two sub-types. Some initial studies had shown it to be 100 per cent efficacious. One of the two HPV vaccines currently available was being marketed in India. The other product would be introduced shortly.

Talking to The Hindu, he said the effectiveness of Pap smear was not very good. The most efficient way of screening in a large country, like India, was to have a combination of HPV testing, VIA and Colposcopy. Health care workers and midwives in rural areas could be trained in VIA method, which was simple, effective and inexpensive.