A new tool to help eliminate cervical cancer worldwide

Just over 25 years ago, our researchers showed that nearly all cervical cancers are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). That put us on the path to effectively eliminating cervical cancer in the UK through a combination of HPV screening and vaccination programmes.  

Today, the benefits of those programmes are clear. A recent study we funded showed that the vaccine has reduced cervical cancer rates by almost 90% in women in their 20s who were offered it between 12 and 13 years of age.

Now, working with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners, we’re helping other countries make the same progress.

The Cervical Cancer Elimination Planning Tool (EPT) is a publicly available online tool that enables countries to create cervical cancer strategies that match screening, vaccination and treatment interventions to their specific regional and national settings.  

Calculations made using the tool have shown that the progress we’ve already helped make against cervical cancer has us on track to save 12.5 million lives in low and middle-income countries around the world. By guiding policymakers on what their next steps should be, the tool itself could help save more than 62 million lives over the next century.  

“The idea of eliminating cervical cancer can be a daunting conceptual step,” said Professor Karen Canfell, who leads the team that co-developed the EPT at the University of Sydney School of Public Health in Australia. “However, with the EPT, countries can map out a path to elimination that is evidence based, feasible and sustainable for their specific circumstances and enables them to track progress towards interim and long-term goals.”

A global challenge  

The EPT is designed to be used alongside the WHO’s global strategy for eliminating cervical cancer around the world. In this case, elimination means cutting yearly cervical cancer incidence rates to less than 4 cases per 100,000 women. 

The strategy is built around three specific targets for countries to meet by 2030:  

1. Vaccinating at least 90% of adolescent girls against HPV.  
2. Screening at least 70% of women aged 30-49 years with an HPV test at least twice in their lifetimes.  
3. Appropriate management of 90% of women with cervical precancer or cancer.  

Building on the original modelling that informed the launch of the WHO strategy in 2020, the EPT gives policymakers in low and middle-income countries the information they need to plan a way of meeting those targets.   

With our funding, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) led the development of the tool as part of its role to bring together the global community to support decision-making in cancer control.  

“The EPT can inform national health decisions on integrating sustainable long-term cervical cancer elimination programmes with priority actions for saving lives today,” says Dr Elisabete Weiderpass, the director of IARC.    

“This planning tool is a major step towards ensuring that no community is left behind in the fight to eliminate this preventable disease.”

Preventing cervical cancer around the world  

In the UK, cervical cancer is the 14th most common cancer in women. There are on average 3,300 new cases each year and around 860 deaths. Since the 1990s, cervical cancer rates across the country have decreased by a third.  

The burden of cervical cancer falls much more heavily on other parts of the world. Overall, it’s the fourth most common cancer in women, and, although we’ve seen improvements in survival in the UK, approximately 350,000 women around the world die because of cervical cancer each year. More than 9 in 10 of those deaths happen in low and middle-income countries. 

The key is that, wherever they might happen, 99.8% of cervical cancer cases are preventable. NHS England has pledged to meet the WHO’s elimination targets by 2040, and the same tools and techniques that make that possible here can make an even more profound difference in the countries where cervical cancer is most common. 

“We’re proud to have played a role in developing this tool, which is helping policymakers around the world implement life-saving prevention strategies,” said Michelle Mitchell, our chief executive. “Beating cervical cancer must mean beating it for everyone, so it is vital we keep up this momentum.”