Dr Surendra Srinivas Shastri presents data during a press conference at the 2013 ASCO Annual Meeting on a large, randomised study conducted among 150,000 women in India over a period of 15 years.

The study reports that biennial visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA), or vinegar, delivered by primary health workers, reduced cervical cancer mortality by nearly one-third (31 percent). Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women in many developing countries, where there is little or no access to Pap screening. The researchers estimate this strategy could prevent 22,000 cervical cancer deaths every year in India and close to 73,000 in resource-poor countries worldwide.

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