On International HPV awareness day, we’ve rounded up some of our best content to get you up to date on HPV, vaccines, cervical screening and how together, we can make cervical cancer rare.
HPV is a common virus – the human papillomavirus. It’s the cause of most cervical cancers.
Research shows that cervical cancer can be prevented through early HPV vaccination combined with regular HPV cervical screening, and access to treatment for those who need it.
Globally, the focus is now on eliminating cervical cancer and Ireland is on track to do this within 16 years – by 2040.
1. HPV and cervical cancer
There are over 100 types of HPV and most of us will get the virus at some point in our lives without it causing us any harm. A lot of us will not even know we’ve had it as our immune system will naturally clear it from our bodies.
For some of us, the virus will remain and if it’s not detected, it could lead to cervical cancer. Most cases of cervical cancer are caused by HPV, but having HPV doesn’t mean you have, or will definitely get, cancer.
The HPV vaccine can protect against certain types of HPV that cause cervical cancer. Combined with regular cervical screening, which is a test for HPV, we can reduce the number of cases of cervical cancer.
2. Understanding HPV cervical screening and the screening intervals: 3 -vs- 5 years
Cervical screening is a test for HPV first. If HPV is found in laboratory testing, your sample is then checked for changes to the cells in your cervix – abnormal or precancerous cells. These changes can lead to cervical cancer developing over time if not found and treated.
Research shows that screening for HPV first is a more precise and efficient screening method than previous screening methods. This knowledge, based on scientific evidence, allows us to increase the number of years between screening tests – five years instead of three years - which is safer and better for those taking part, reducing the chance of women having unnecessary medical treatments. A negative HPV result is reassuring as cervical cancer is unlikely to develop if there’s no HPV present. A positive HPV result gives women the opportunity to be monitored more closely to prevent or reduce the possibility of cervical cancer developing.
3. CervicalCheck – Ireland’s free cervical cancer screening programme
CervicalCheck is for women and people with a cervix aged 25 to 65. Screening is for people with no symptoms of cervical cancer. You’ll be invited for cervical screening every 3 years between the ages of 25 and 29, and every 5 years aged 30 to 65.
It’s your choice if you want to go for cervical screening. It can prevent cervical cancer and reduce the chance of cancer developing. Regular cervical screening can save lives.
4. HPV self-sampling
We’ve covered why cervical screening is important, but we know that for some people, there are barriers to going for screening.
Results from a new study show that in Ireland just over half of women eligible for cervical screening would prefer self-sampling over being screened by a doctor or nurse if they were offered the choice. Self-sampling is where you take a sample yourself using a home-test kit and send it off for testing.
This choice may be particularly important for women who have never attended cervical screening or who don’t get screened regularly. The option of HPV self-sampling may help to make cervical screening more equitable and could help us on the road to eliminating cervical cancer if it increases the number of women getting screened.
5. Preventing cervical cancer with vaccines
So, we know that HPV causes most cases of cervical cancer and that we test for HPV through screening. There’s also a way to protect against getting certain types of HPV in the first place: vaccination.
HPV vaccination has been offered in Ireland since 2010 and we published new research last year which shows the early signs of the positive protective effect of HPV vaccination in women at the time of their first cervical screening test. We found a big drop in the percentage of cervical screening tests showing serious precancer disease in women aged 25.
6. Cervical Cancer Elimination
Ireland has set a target to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040. Elimination means getting the number of cases of cervical cancer to a low level - less than 4 cases per 100,000 women - making it rare. It’s part of a global movement to eliminate a cancer for the first time. We have what we need to get there: HPV vaccination, cervical screening that tests for HPV first, and treatment for those who need it.
To reach the goal of elimination we need to increase the number of people getting the HPV vaccination and going for regular cervical screening.
- The Cervical Cancer Elimination partnership is developing a national action plan to keep Ireland on track to eliminate cervical cancer. We’re inviting everyone to be part of this. We’ve launched an online survey so you can add your voice to Ireland’s next steps to eliminating cervical cancer. The survey is available until 5 April 2024.