The next frontier in the battle against cervical cancer: Prospects and challenges

Madam, cancer of the cervix uteri is a leading global cause of mortality and morbidity in women. The burden of this oncological disease is unfortunately largely concentrated in the developing world. Pap smear screening is perhaps the single most cost-effective screening tool that has been developed for the timely detection of malignant and pre-malignant cervical lesions. This simple approach has spelled out a phenomenal success story because of its potential for nipping the evil in the bud. However, the developing world has not been able to reap the full benefits of this simple scientific paraphernalia. In developing countries like Pakistan, screening for human papilloma virus (HPV) infection is not a common practice. Exact estimates of the prevalence of HPV infection in Pakistan are lacking. However, laboratory studies on cervical cancer biopsy specimens have shown high rates of HPV infection (88 - 98%); HPV 16 being the dominant subtype.