The vaccination of a generation? – That Cancer Conversation podcast

One of our podcast listeners has brought to our attention that we used the word ‘convince’ in this podcast, in the context of convincing girls to take the HPV vaccine. We realise that this goes against our informed choice policy and we thank our listener for bringing this to our attention.

At Cancer Research UK we believe in informed choice, which means educating people on the pros and cons of the vaccine and allowing them to make their own choice. You can find out more about our informed choice policy here.

Last year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced an ambitious plan: to create a ‘cervical cancer-free future’. The potential reward is huge. If we succeed, cervical cancer will become the first cancer to be ‘eliminated’ on this scale.

Globally, cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women – 99% of cases worldwide are caused by a few high-risk strains of a common virus called human papillomavirus and in many countries around the world, people are given a vaccine to prevent HPV at an early age.

Despite data from countries like Sweden and the UK showing that vaccination programmes reduce cervical cancer rates dramatically, there are still countries – such as the USA – that don’t have universally accessible programmes.

We hear from Dr Ishu Kataria – Public Health Researcher at RTI International, whose work into non-communicable diseases has found her working with the UN and WHO. Right now, she and her team are working out how to get the HPV vaccine to more than 70 million girls aged between 9 and 14 in India.

How to find out more about Dr Kataria’s work:

• Follow Dr Kataria at @ishukataria3
• Dr Ishu Kataria – RTI International

To read more about the topics discussed:

• Does HPV cause cancer? – Cancer Research UK
• “That is what I dream”: India’s journey to rolling out the HPV vaccine – Cancer Research UK
• Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative – WHO
• HPV vaccine cutting cervical cancer by nearly 90% – BBC
• HPV Vaccine Should Be Universal For Boys And Girls, Ages 9-14 – Forbes

Read the transcript