A Comparison of the National Cervical Cancer Policies in Six Developing Countries with the World Health Organization Recommendations: A Narrative Review
-
Siti Maisara Amir
,
Idayu Badilla Idris
,
Zakiah Mohd Said
,
Hanizah Mohd Yusoff
,
Mohd Rizal Abdul Manaf
Abstract
Background: This study reviewed cervical cancer policies implemented in developing countries that adhered to WHO standards. Despite long being known as a preventable disease, cervical cancer is still one of the leading causes of mortality among women. Nine out of ten cervical cancer deaths occurred in less-developed countries, suggesting that the preventive and control approaches in these countries might differ from those in developed nations.
Methods: Cervical cancer policies in six developing countries from each WHO region were selected while related data from the Cervical Cancer Country Profiles 2021 by WHO were retrieved for comparison.
Results: The cervical cancer policies that were included in this review were from Malaysia, Thailand, Iran, Kenya, Argentina, and Ukraine. According to the latest guidelines on the management of cervical cancers, WHO recommendations have been elaborated on primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. A comparison of policies among these selected countries showed variation in each level of prevention. The cancer burden in each country was also found to determine the progression of cervical cancer prevention and policy controls in these countries.
Conclusion: This review emphasizes the dissimilarities of cervical cancer policies in six developing countries compared to recommendations by the WHO. Identifying these discrepancies could help policymakers in developing nations to recognize the pressing issues surrounding cervical cancer prevention and establish more effective prevention and control approaches.
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3. Cohen PA, Jhingran A, Oaknin A, et al (2019). Cervical cancer. Lancet, 393 (10167): 169-82.
4. Yuan Y, Cai X, Shen F, et al (2021). HPV post-infection microenvironment and cervical cancer. Cancer Lett, 497: 243-54.
5. Liverani CA, Di Giuseppe J, Giannella L, et al (2020). Cervical cancer screening guidelines in the postvaccination era: review of the literature. J Oncol, 2020: 8887672.
6. Shrestha AD, Neupane D, Vedsted P, et al (2018). Cervical cancer prevalence, incidence and mortality in low and middle income countries: a systematic review. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 19 (2): 319-324.
7. Mahantshetty U, Lavanya G, Grover S, et al (2021). Incidence, Treatment and Outcomes of Cervical Cancer in Low- and Middle-income Countries. Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol), 33 (9): e363–71.
8. Hull R, Mbele M, Makhafola T, et al (2020). Cervical cancer in low and middle‑income countries. Oncol Lett, 20 (3): 2058-74.
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11. Beddoe AM (2019). Elimination of cervical cancer: challenges for developing countries. Ecancermedicalscience, 13: 975.
12. Zaridah S (2014). A review of cervical cancer research in Malaysia. Med J Malaysia, 69 Suppl A: 33-41.
13. World Health Organization (2022). Countries. https://www.who.int/countries
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15. World Health Organization (2022). Cervical cancer country profiles. Available from: https://www.who.int/teams/noncommunicable-diseases/surveillance/data/cervical-cancer-profiles
16. Ferrari R (2015). Writing narrative style literature reviews. Medical Writing, 24 (4): 230-5.
17. Sankaranarayanan R (2015). HPV vaccination: The most pragmatic cervical cancer primary prevention strategy. Int J Gynaecol Obstet, 131 Suppl 1:S33-5.
18. World Health Organization (2021). WHO Guideline for Screening and Treatment of Cervical Pre-cancer Lesions for Cervical Cancer Prevention: web annex A: syntheses of evidence. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240030824
19. Krakauer EL, Kane K, Kwete X, et al (2021). Essential package of palliative care for women with cervical cancer: Responding to the suffering of a highly vulnerable population. JCO Glob Oncol, 7: 873-85.
20. Guo F, Cofie LE, Berenson AB (2018). Cervical cancer incidence in young US females after human papillomavirus vaccine introduction. Am J Prev Med, 55 (2): 197-204.
21. Zrielykh L (2021). 752 The analysis of statistics of cervical cancer in Ukraine. Int J Gynecol Cancer, 31(Suppl 3):A1–A395
22. Mohammadpour F, Mansouri A, Hadjibabaie M (2020). Utilization Evaluation of Human Papilloma Virus Vaccine (GARDASIL®) in Iran; A Cross-Sectional Study. Iran J Pharm Res, 19 (1): 68-76.
23. Bruni L, Barrionuevo-Rosas L, Albero G, et al (2019). Human papillomavirus and related diseases report. ICO/IARC Information Centre on HPV and Cancer (HPV Information Centre).
24. Insamran W, Sangrajrang S (2020). National cancer control program of Thailand. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 21 (3): 577-82.
25. World Health Organization (2020). WHO framework for strengthening and scaling-up of services for the management of invasive cervical cancer.
26. Khodakarami N, Farzaneh F, Yavari P, et al (2016). Cervical cancer screening: Recommendations for Muslim societies. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 17 (1): 239–47.
27. Garland SM (2014). The Australian experience with the human papillomavirus vaccine. Clin Ther, 36 (1): 17-23.
28. Baldur-Felskov B, Dehlendorff C, Munk C, et al (2014). Early impact of human papillomavirus vaccination on cervical neoplasia—nationwide follow-up of young Danish women. J Natl Cancer Inst, 106 (3): djt460.
29. Kavanagh K, Pollock KG, Potts A, et al (2014). Introduction and sustained high coverage of the HPV bivalent vaccine leads to a reduction in prevalence of HPV 16/18 and closely related HPV types. Br J Cancer, 110 (11): 2804-11.
30. Machalek DA, Garland SM, Brotherton JM, et al (2018). Very low prevalence of vaccine human papillomavirus types among 18-to 35-year old Australian women 9 years following implementation of vaccination. J Infect Dis, 217 (10): 1590-1600.
31. Lei J, Ploner A, Elfström KM, et al (2020). HPV Vaccination and the Risk of Invasive Cervical Cancer. N Engl J Med, 383 (14): 1340–8.
32. Tsu VD, LaMontagne DS, Atuhebwe P, et al (2021). National implementation of HPV vaccination programs in low-resource countries: Lessons, challenges, and future prospects. Prev Med, 144: 106335.
33. Salo H, Nieminen P, Kilpi T, et al (2014). Divergent coverage, frequency and costs of organised and opportunistic Pap testing in Finland. Int J Cancer, 135 (1): 204-13.
34. Ferroni E, Camilloni L, Jimenez B, et al (2012). How to increase uptake in oncologic screening: a systematic review of studies comparing population-based screening programs and spontaneous access. Prev Med, 55 (6): 587-96.
35. Paulauskiene J, Ivanauskiene R, Skrodeniene E, et al (2019). Organised versus opportunistic cervical cancer screening in urban and rural regions of Lithuania. Medicina (Kaunas), 55 (9): 570.
36. Serraino D, Gini A, Taborelli M, et al (2015). Changes in cervical cancer incidence following the introduction of organized screening in Italy. Prev Med, 75: 56-63.
37. Apás Pérez De Nucci A, Minig L, Perrotta M (2017). Patterns of cervical cancer care in Argentina: Applying ASCO recommendations adjusted by local resources. Gynecol Oncol Rep, 21: 61-6.
38. Patel A, Galaal K, Burnley C, et al (2012). Cervical cancer incidence in young women: a historical and geographic controlled UK regional population study. Br J Cancer, 106 (11): 1753-9.
39. Baldur-Felskov B, Munk C, Nielsen TS, et al (2015). Trends in the incidence of cervical cancer and severe precancerous lesions in Denmark, 1997–2012. Cancer Causes Control, 26: 1105-16.
40. Foley G, Alston R, Geraci M, et al (2011). Increasing rates of cervical cancer in young women in England: An analysis of national data 1982-2006. Br J Cancer, 105 (1): 177-84.
41. Lau HY, Juang CM, Chen YJ, et al (2009). Aggressive characteristics of cervical cancer in young women in Taiwan. Int J Gynaecol Obstet, 107 (3): 220-3.
42. Galic V, Herzog TJ, Lewin SN, et al (2012). Prognostic significance of adenocarcinoma histology in women with cervical cancer. Gynecol Oncol, 125 (2): 287-91.
43. Castanon A, Rebolj M, Pesola F, et al (2021). Recovery strategies following COVID-19 disruption to cervical cancer screening and their impact on excess diagnoses. Br J Cancer, 124 (8): 1361-5.
44. Saslow D, Solomon D, Lawson HW, et al (2012). American Cancer Society, American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, and American Society for Clinical Pathology screening guidelines for the prevention and early detection of cervical cancer. Am J Clin Pathol, 137 (4): 516-42.
45. Lees BF, Erickson BK, Huh WK (2016). Cervical cancer screening: Evidence behind the guidelines. Am J Obstet Gynecol, 214 (4): 438-43.
46. Kashtalian N, Gladchuk I, Rozhkovska N, et al (2018). Overtreatment in treatment of cervical intraepithelial lesions. J Educ Health Sport, 8 (11): 532-39
47. Ploysawang P, Rojanamatin J, Prapakorn S, et al (2021). National Cervical Cancer Screening in Thailand. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 22 (1): 25-30.
48. Abdullah NN, Daud S, Wang SM, et al (2018). Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) self-sampling: do women accept it?. J Obstet Gynaecol, 38 (3): 402-7.
49. Ma'som M, Bhoo-Pathy N, Nasir NH, et al (2016). Attitudes and factors affecting acceptability of self-administered cervicovaginal sampling for human papillomavirus (HPV) genotyping as an alternative to Pap testing among multiethnic Malaysian women. BMJ Open, 6 (8): e011022.
50. Sangrajrang S, Laowahutanont P, Wongsena M, et al (2017). Comparative accuracy of Pap smear and HPV screening in Ubon Ratchathani in Thailand. Papillomavirus Res, 3: 30-35.
51. Ndonye PK, Tagoe SN (2022). Current Status of Radiotherapy Services in Kenya. J Cancer Ther, 13 (4): 218-33.
52. Rodin D, Burger EA, Atun R, et al (2019). Scale-up of radiotherapy for cervical cancer in the era of human papillomavirus vaccination in low-income and middle-income countries: a model-based analysis of need and economic impact. Lancet Oncol, 20 (7): 915-23.
53. Khosla D, Patel FD, Sharma SC (2012). Palliative care in India: Current progress and future needs. Indian J Palliat Care, 18 (3): 149-54.
54. Tapera O, Nyakabau AM (2020). Limited knowledge and access to palliative care among women with cervical cancer: an opportunity for integrating oncology and palliative care in Zimbabwe. BMC Palliat Care, 19 (1):20.
2. Wang R, Pan W, Jin L, et al (2020). Human papillomavirus vaccine against cervical cancer: Opportunity and challenge. Cancer Lett, 471: 88-102.
3. Cohen PA, Jhingran A, Oaknin A, et al (2019). Cervical cancer. Lancet, 393 (10167): 169-82.
4. Yuan Y, Cai X, Shen F, et al (2021). HPV post-infection microenvironment and cervical cancer. Cancer Lett, 497: 243-54.
5. Liverani CA, Di Giuseppe J, Giannella L, et al (2020). Cervical cancer screening guidelines in the postvaccination era: review of the literature. J Oncol, 2020: 8887672.
6. Shrestha AD, Neupane D, Vedsted P, et al (2018). Cervical cancer prevalence, incidence and mortality in low and middle income countries: a systematic review. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 19 (2): 319-324.
7. Mahantshetty U, Lavanya G, Grover S, et al (2021). Incidence, Treatment and Outcomes of Cervical Cancer in Low- and Middle-income Countries. Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol), 33 (9): e363–71.
8. Hull R, Mbele M, Makhafola T, et al (2020). Cervical cancer in low and middle‑income countries. Oncol Lett, 20 (3): 2058-74.
9. Campos NG, Sharma M, Clark A, et al (2017). The health and economic impact of scaling cervical cancer prevention in 50 low‐and lower‐middle‐income countries. Int J Gynaecol Obstet, 138 Suppl 1:47-56.
10. World Health Organization (2022). Accelerating the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem: Towards achieving 90–70–90 targets by 2030. World Health Organization. Regional Office for South-East Asia.
11. Beddoe AM (2019). Elimination of cervical cancer: challenges for developing countries. Ecancermedicalscience, 13: 975.
12. Zaridah S (2014). A review of cervical cancer research in Malaysia. Med J Malaysia, 69 Suppl A: 33-41.
13. World Health Organization (2022). Countries. https://www.who.int/countries
14. The World Bank (2022). World Bank Open Data: Free and open access to global development data. Available from: https://data.worldbank.org/
15. World Health Organization (2022). Cervical cancer country profiles. Available from: https://www.who.int/teams/noncommunicable-diseases/surveillance/data/cervical-cancer-profiles
16. Ferrari R (2015). Writing narrative style literature reviews. Medical Writing, 24 (4): 230-5.
17. Sankaranarayanan R (2015). HPV vaccination: The most pragmatic cervical cancer primary prevention strategy. Int J Gynaecol Obstet, 131 Suppl 1:S33-5.
18. World Health Organization (2021). WHO Guideline for Screening and Treatment of Cervical Pre-cancer Lesions for Cervical Cancer Prevention: web annex A: syntheses of evidence. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240030824
19. Krakauer EL, Kane K, Kwete X, et al (2021). Essential package of palliative care for women with cervical cancer: Responding to the suffering of a highly vulnerable population. JCO Glob Oncol, 7: 873-85.
20. Guo F, Cofie LE, Berenson AB (2018). Cervical cancer incidence in young US females after human papillomavirus vaccine introduction. Am J Prev Med, 55 (2): 197-204.
21. Zrielykh L (2021). 752 The analysis of statistics of cervical cancer in Ukraine. Int J Gynecol Cancer, 31(Suppl 3):A1–A395
22. Mohammadpour F, Mansouri A, Hadjibabaie M (2020). Utilization Evaluation of Human Papilloma Virus Vaccine (GARDASIL®) in Iran; A Cross-Sectional Study. Iran J Pharm Res, 19 (1): 68-76.
23. Bruni L, Barrionuevo-Rosas L, Albero G, et al (2019). Human papillomavirus and related diseases report. ICO/IARC Information Centre on HPV and Cancer (HPV Information Centre).
24. Insamran W, Sangrajrang S (2020). National cancer control program of Thailand. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 21 (3): 577-82.
25. World Health Organization (2020). WHO framework for strengthening and scaling-up of services for the management of invasive cervical cancer.
26. Khodakarami N, Farzaneh F, Yavari P, et al (2016). Cervical cancer screening: Recommendations for Muslim societies. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 17 (1): 239–47.
27. Garland SM (2014). The Australian experience with the human papillomavirus vaccine. Clin Ther, 36 (1): 17-23.
28. Baldur-Felskov B, Dehlendorff C, Munk C, et al (2014). Early impact of human papillomavirus vaccination on cervical neoplasia—nationwide follow-up of young Danish women. J Natl Cancer Inst, 106 (3): djt460.
29. Kavanagh K, Pollock KG, Potts A, et al (2014). Introduction and sustained high coverage of the HPV bivalent vaccine leads to a reduction in prevalence of HPV 16/18 and closely related HPV types. Br J Cancer, 110 (11): 2804-11.
30. Machalek DA, Garland SM, Brotherton JM, et al (2018). Very low prevalence of vaccine human papillomavirus types among 18-to 35-year old Australian women 9 years following implementation of vaccination. J Infect Dis, 217 (10): 1590-1600.
31. Lei J, Ploner A, Elfström KM, et al (2020). HPV Vaccination and the Risk of Invasive Cervical Cancer. N Engl J Med, 383 (14): 1340–8.
32. Tsu VD, LaMontagne DS, Atuhebwe P, et al (2021). National implementation of HPV vaccination programs in low-resource countries: Lessons, challenges, and future prospects. Prev Med, 144: 106335.
33. Salo H, Nieminen P, Kilpi T, et al (2014). Divergent coverage, frequency and costs of organised and opportunistic Pap testing in Finland. Int J Cancer, 135 (1): 204-13.
34. Ferroni E, Camilloni L, Jimenez B, et al (2012). How to increase uptake in oncologic screening: a systematic review of studies comparing population-based screening programs and spontaneous access. Prev Med, 55 (6): 587-96.
35. Paulauskiene J, Ivanauskiene R, Skrodeniene E, et al (2019). Organised versus opportunistic cervical cancer screening in urban and rural regions of Lithuania. Medicina (Kaunas), 55 (9): 570.
36. Serraino D, Gini A, Taborelli M, et al (2015). Changes in cervical cancer incidence following the introduction of organized screening in Italy. Prev Med, 75: 56-63.
37. Apás Pérez De Nucci A, Minig L, Perrotta M (2017). Patterns of cervical cancer care in Argentina: Applying ASCO recommendations adjusted by local resources. Gynecol Oncol Rep, 21: 61-6.
38. Patel A, Galaal K, Burnley C, et al (2012). Cervical cancer incidence in young women: a historical and geographic controlled UK regional population study. Br J Cancer, 106 (11): 1753-9.
39. Baldur-Felskov B, Munk C, Nielsen TS, et al (2015). Trends in the incidence of cervical cancer and severe precancerous lesions in Denmark, 1997–2012. Cancer Causes Control, 26: 1105-16.
40. Foley G, Alston R, Geraci M, et al (2011). Increasing rates of cervical cancer in young women in England: An analysis of national data 1982-2006. Br J Cancer, 105 (1): 177-84.
41. Lau HY, Juang CM, Chen YJ, et al (2009). Aggressive characteristics of cervical cancer in young women in Taiwan. Int J Gynaecol Obstet, 107 (3): 220-3.
42. Galic V, Herzog TJ, Lewin SN, et al (2012). Prognostic significance of adenocarcinoma histology in women with cervical cancer. Gynecol Oncol, 125 (2): 287-91.
43. Castanon A, Rebolj M, Pesola F, et al (2021). Recovery strategies following COVID-19 disruption to cervical cancer screening and their impact on excess diagnoses. Br J Cancer, 124 (8): 1361-5.
44. Saslow D, Solomon D, Lawson HW, et al (2012). American Cancer Society, American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, and American Society for Clinical Pathology screening guidelines for the prevention and early detection of cervical cancer. Am J Clin Pathol, 137 (4): 516-42.
45. Lees BF, Erickson BK, Huh WK (2016). Cervical cancer screening: Evidence behind the guidelines. Am J Obstet Gynecol, 214 (4): 438-43.
46. Kashtalian N, Gladchuk I, Rozhkovska N, et al (2018). Overtreatment in treatment of cervical intraepithelial lesions. J Educ Health Sport, 8 (11): 532-39
47. Ploysawang P, Rojanamatin J, Prapakorn S, et al (2021). National Cervical Cancer Screening in Thailand. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 22 (1): 25-30.
48. Abdullah NN, Daud S, Wang SM, et al (2018). Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) self-sampling: do women accept it?. J Obstet Gynaecol, 38 (3): 402-7.
49. Ma'som M, Bhoo-Pathy N, Nasir NH, et al (2016). Attitudes and factors affecting acceptability of self-administered cervicovaginal sampling for human papillomavirus (HPV) genotyping as an alternative to Pap testing among multiethnic Malaysian women. BMJ Open, 6 (8): e011022.
50. Sangrajrang S, Laowahutanont P, Wongsena M, et al (2017). Comparative accuracy of Pap smear and HPV screening in Ubon Ratchathani in Thailand. Papillomavirus Res, 3: 30-35.
51. Ndonye PK, Tagoe SN (2022). Current Status of Radiotherapy Services in Kenya. J Cancer Ther, 13 (4): 218-33.
52. Rodin D, Burger EA, Atun R, et al (2019). Scale-up of radiotherapy for cervical cancer in the era of human papillomavirus vaccination in low-income and middle-income countries: a model-based analysis of need and economic impact. Lancet Oncol, 20 (7): 915-23.
53. Khosla D, Patel FD, Sharma SC (2012). Palliative care in India: Current progress and future needs. Indian J Palliat Care, 18 (3): 149-54.
54. Tapera O, Nyakabau AM (2020). Limited knowledge and access to palliative care among women with cervical cancer: an opportunity for integrating oncology and palliative care in Zimbabwe. BMC Palliat Care, 19 (1):20.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 52 No 6 (2023) | |
| Section | Review Article(s) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/ijph.v52i6.12952 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Cervical cancer Prevention Control Developing country Policy | ||
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How to Cite
1.
Amir SM, Idris I, Mohd Said Z, Mohd Yusoff H, Abdul Manaf MR. A Comparison of the National Cervical Cancer Policies in Six Developing Countries with the World Health Organization Recommendations: A Narrative Review. Iran J Public Health. 2023;52(6):1108-1120.
