Cervical cancer screening tools reach low and lower-middle income countries

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WHO prequalification expands the availability of this critical HPV screening tool in countries that rely on the global organisation’s list in making purchasing and implementation decisions.

Screening for human papillomavirus (HPV) can help identify women who are at risk of developing cervical cancer, so that the disease can be treated early, before invasive cancer has a chance to develop.

In poorer countries, women are often diagnosed with cervical cancer at a more advanced stage, where the opportunity for a cure is low.

“The elimination of cervical cancer is within reach. Roche is committed to working with governments, non-profit organisations and funders to help build sustainable cervical-cancer elimination programmes so that women, no matter where in the world they live, no longer die from this preventable disease,” said Matt Sause, chief executive officer of Roche Diagnostics.

“Today’s action, combined with our recently-launched HPV self-sampling solution, further expands access to HPV screening in countries with limited healthcare resources.”The WHO strategy for global elimination of cervical cancer lists the following three target goals to reach by 2030:

• 90% of girls should be fully vaccinated with HPV vaccine by 15 years of age;
• 70% of women should be screened using a high-performance test by age 35, and again by age 45;
• 90% of those identified with cervical disease should receive appropriate treatment.

The cobas HPV test is already part of the Roche global access programme, which aims to improve access to cost-effective resources, implement scale-up programmes, and contribute to the elimination of diseases in the regions with the greatest need. WHO prequalification helps expand that access and provides healthcare professionals with greater confidence that their clinical decisions will be based on accurate, reliable results.