973Eliminating Cervical Cancer in the Asia Pacific- From Research to Policy and Practice
Authors: Hanley Sharon 
Published: September 2021

Focus and outcomes for participants

Rationale for the symposium, including for its inclusion in the Congress

Cervical cancer, caused by persistent infection with oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV), is one of the most preventable and treatable forms of cancer, yet more than 300,000 women die from the disease annually and over 500,000 cases are diagnosed. Modelling has shown that effective integration of HPV immunization programmes, HPV-based screening, and access to high-quality cancer treatment and palliative care services has the potential to eliminate cervical cancer in most countries in the world over the next century. In 2018, the Director-General of WHO made a global call to action for the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem. As a result, WHO has developed a global strategy towards eliminating cervical cancer as a public health problem due for endorsement at the World Health Assembly in May 2020, which proposes an elimination threshold of four cases per 100 000 women and includes 2030 triple-intervention coverage targets for scale-up of HPV vaccination of 90%, twice-lifetime cervical screening of 70%, and treatment of pre-invasive lesions and invasive cancer of 90%.

As the first country to establish a national HPV immunization programme and one of the first countries to move to an HPV based screening programme, Australia has played a leading role in the global battle against cervical cancer and is on course to eliminate the disease within the next decade. However, while the burden of disease and the highest mortality from cervical cancer occur in lower income countries, factors such as the inequitable cervical cancer burden in Indigenous populations and vaccine hesitancy mean that significant barriers to the elimination of cervical cancer also exists within high-income countries.

This session will have seven experts working in four countries within the Asia Pacific region. By sharing experiences and providing evidence-based guidance on key technical and strategic issues, we hope to generate a comprehensive understanding and new knowledge on factors impacting participation in, and the potential for effective scale up of, cervical cancer control programmes within the region.

Presentation program

Names of presenters

-Dr Kate Simms is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Cancer Council NSW, Australia. Her research focusses on modelling the impact of HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening across a range of settings, including predictions for the potential elimination of cervical cancer across 181 countries.

-Associate Professor Julia Brotherton is a public health physician and Medical Director of VCS Population Health. She is involved in research and policy development informing the implementation and evaluation of HPV vaccination programs in Australia and is member of the WHO Director General's Expert Advisory Group on Cervical Cancer Elimination.

-Assistant Professor Sharon Hanley is a cancer epidemiologist at Hokkaido University, Japan. Her research interests include HPV vaccine hesitancy and HPV self-sampling to increase cervical screening uptake in never/under screened Japanese women.

- Associate Professor Lisa Whop is an Indigenous Senior Research Fellow at the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. Her research focuses on improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with cancer, with a key focus on equity.

- Dr Megan Smith is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow whose research focuses on optimizing and successfully implementing cervical cancer prevention, at the population level and in different population subgroups. She has contributed to a large number of reports to government, including several evaluations that have directly informed policy in Australia, New Zealand and England.

-Professor Andrew Vallely is a clinical epidemiologist at the Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Australia. He recently completed a field evaluation comparing point-of-care Xpert HPV testing using self-collected specimens with visual inspection of the cervix with acetic acid (VIA), to detect high-grade cervical disease.

- Professor Woo Yin Ling is a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at the University of Malaya. She is the programme designer of Project ROSE (Removal of Obstacles to Cervical Screening), a novel cervical screening research programme which employs HPV self-sampling and digital technology to increase access to cervical screening in Malaysia.

Names of facilitator or chair

Assistant Professor Sharon J.B. Hanley, Hokkaido University and Professor John Kaldor, Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales?