HPV Infection and Cervical Cancer

Cancer cases attributed to Human Papillomavirus (HPV) represent approximately 4.5% of all cancers. High-risk HPV types cause nearly 100% of cervical cancer (CC) cases, the fourth most frequent female cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. The burden of CC is greater in low- and middle-income countries, reflecting global inequities in the access to vaccination and screening programs, health services, and high-quality treatments. In May 2018, WHO announced a global action to eliminate CC as a public health problem, a goal defined as achieving and maintaining in all countries an incidence rate of <4 per 100,000 women-years, and established intermediate targets (90-70-90) to be achieved by 2030 in all countries, based on the implementation of primary (HPV vaccination), secondary (screening), and tertiary (precancer and cancer treatment and management) prevention strategies. This is the first time the world has committed to eliminate a cancer.