Causes of Cervical Cancer Identified in India

India shoulders one-fourth of the global burden of cervical cancer caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV), and it’s the most common cancer among women in the country. Researchers are now one step closer to a more effective vaccination program in India, a measure that could eliminate 75 percent of cervical cancers in the region.

An estimated 74,000 deaths every year in India are attributed to cervical cancer caused by HPV, and 132,000 new cases emerge in the country annually.

Scientists have identified the two most common types of HPV in India after examining 106 women with invasive cervical cancer, 524 women with an unhealthy cervix and a population of women who underwent HPV testing. The two types — called HPV-16 and HPV-18 — together accounted for 83 percent of invasive cervical cancer cases. Both types were associated with 34.4 percent of normal disease, 45.4 percent of low-grade disease and almost 66 percent of high-grade disease.

More than 100 HPV genotypes have been identified in humans, and researchers hope the identification of the two types in India will lead to a more effective vaccination program. – American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers