Precancerous lesions may raise risk of developing cervical cancer later, study suggests.
HealthDay (10/28, Reinberg) reports, "Women who have had advanced precancerous lesions of the cervix are still at risk for invasive cancers up to 25 years later," according to a study published in the Oct. 26 issue of the British Medical Journal. Researchers at Sweden's University of Gothenburg examined "data on 132,493 women who had a diagnosis of severe dysplasia/carcinoma in situ (CIS) between 1958 and 2002." They found that, one year after the first diagnosis, "881 women had developed cervical cancer, and 111 had developed vaginal cancer." These numbers were roughly "seven times higher than expected."
      Additionally, Britain's Guardian Unlimited (10/27) reported that the study revealed that even though the patients' "risk decreased with time, those treated for precancerous lesions were still around twice as likely to get cervical cancer than those who had never needed any treatment." Also, "The risk was slightly higher than average for those who were treated after the age of 20 and [older,] but higher still for those who were 50 or older when abnormalities were diagnosed."
      MedPage Today (10/26, Groch) added that researchers suggested the elevated risk in those over 50 may be explained in part by "differences in treatment modalities in the different decades," as women in their child-bearing years "have been treated more conservatively since the 1980s and even earlier, preserving fertility but leaving more tissue at risk of recurrent and possibly undetected residual dysplasia."
      The UPI (10/27) explained that "CIS is an early form of carcinoma defined by the absence of invasion of surrounding tissues." And, although this condition is not considered cancer, it closely mimics the disease, "as some cells look cancerous but are superficially in the mucosa...and not in any tissue."
      Science Daily (10/28) quoted the study's lead author, Dr. Bjorn Strander of the University of Gothenberg, as saying, "Although most women with high-grade dysplasia have been protected from invasive cancer it must be considered a failure of the medical service when women participate in screening, their pre-cancerous lesions are found and they subject themselves to treatment of those lesions, presumably participate in follow-up programs and still develop invasive cancer." In light of this study's findings, "[c]ancer experts are now calling for cytological smears to be offered at regular intervals for at least 25 years after a woman has had severe dysplasia/CIS."
      However, Dr. Anne Szarewski, who is the "honorary senior lecturer at the Cancer Research U.K. Center for Epidemiology, Mathematics and Statistics in London," and who was not involved in the study, cautioned that "the majority of women who are found to have high grade cervical abnormalities are in their 30s and early 40s, a time when they may have not completed...their family," quoted BBC News (10/27). She added that physicians "need to think about whether women will find [screening] reassuring but also up to what age they would be willing to undergo screening."
      British government announces plan for girls to receive HPV vaccine.   AHN (10/26, Sukhadwala) reported that "Schoolgirls in England aged 12 to 13 will get vaccinated against a virus which causes cervical cancer" beginning in September 2008.
      Medical News Today (10/27) added that officials estimate the "program will cost approximately" $200 million each year. However, according to British Health Secretary Alan Johnson, the program could "potentially sav[e] around 400 lives a year."
      BBC News (10/27) noted that the new policy "goes further than recommended by experts, with all aged 12-13 eligible, and a catch-up campaign [for girls] up to 18" who have not been vaccinated. Although the plan will begin for those age 12-13, the plan is "to vaccinate those up to the age of 18 from autumn 2009." Meanwhile, "Wales and Scotland have announced similar plans, and Northern Ireland will also be carrying out vaccination in 12-year olds but has yet to finalize the details."
      The Financial Times (10/27, Jack) pointed out that "[i]n England, 2,200 cervical cancer cases are diagnosed each year, with about 800 deaths from the disease."
      Kansas City offers free HPV vaccines to under-, uninsured.   The Kansas City Star (10/28, Bavley) reported, "Health centers and clinics throughout the Kansas City area are now offering HPV vaccine free of charge to uninsured and underinsured girls and women." The program is made possible by "a $2.5 million grant from the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City and the REACH Healthcare Foundation," and is available for "[g]irls and women ages 9 to 26."
      Trial to create male HPV vaccine underway in South Africa.   SABC News (10/28) reported, "Tests are underway in South Africa to prove the effectiveness of an international cervical cancer vaccine." The trial, which involves 300 men, is seeking to discover "whether this vaccine can kill...human papilloma virus (HPV) strands in men." According to lead researcher Estyhia Vardas, "In order to actually prevent this infection from spreading in humans you have to immunize both men and women. Although the primary prevention we are focusing on is the cancer of the cervix, we still need to immunize the men because they are probably the main transmitters."