HPV vaccine may lead to elimination of cervical cancer
The American Cancer Society (ACS) is committing to work towards eliminating cervical cancer in the United States in the next 40 years by increasing HPV vaccination rates and continued screening. To this end, ACS is launching Mission: HPV Cancer Free, a public health campaign to eliminate vaccine-preventable HPV cancers, starting with cervical cancer. The goal of the campaign is to have 80 percent of 13-year-old boys and girls in the US fully vaccinated with HPV vaccine by 2026—20 years after introduction of the first HPV vaccine. [...] "If we can achieve sustained 80% HPV vaccination in pre-teen boys and girls, combined with continued screening and treatment for cervical pre-cancers, we could see the elimination of cervical cancer in the US within 40 years," said Richard C. Wender, M.D., chief cancer control officer for the American Cancer Society. "No cancer has been eliminated yet, but we believe if these conditions are met, the elimination of cervical cancer is a very real possibility." [...] UPDATE June 7, 2018: The National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers have endorsed the goal of eliminating cancers caused by HPV through gender-neutral HPV vaccination and evidence-based cancer screening.