Advances in the prevention of cervical cancer

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Published: 21 Oct 2011
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Prof Jack Cuzick - Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, London, UK

Prof Jack Cuzick talks to ecancer.tv about progress in the development of HPV vaccines against cervical cancer. Current vaccines such as Cervarix can effectively protect against HPV types 16 and 18, however the pharmaceutical company Merck are developing a vaccine to inoculate against 9 different types. Combinations of these vaccines and better screening programmes will open up the possibility of completely eradicating HPV related diseases; however, cost is a major obstacle to the success of these preventative measures in poorer countries. Prof Cuzick explains how this may be overcome thanks to approval for GAVI to provide these vaccines at a highly reduced cost to some of the world’s poorest countries and outlines recent advances in the prevention of other cancers such as breast and prostate.