BRUSSELS, Belgium/RUGBY, UK: At the recent 2019 European Cancer Summit of the European CanCer Organisation (ECCO), the ECCO Oncopolicy Committee agreed on a resolution stating that, by 2030, all European countries should have effective strategies in place to eliminate cancers caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). A disease can manifest many years after infection with HPV, which is the leading cause of oral cancer, particularly among young people, and incidence rates are rising steadily throughout Europe.
The resolution was developed by ECCO in conjunction with several of its member societies and a number of other external stakeholders and was preceded by a public consultation period earlier this year. The resolution supports the World Health Organization’s (WHO) self-described 90-70-90 targets, outlined in its draft Global Strategy Towards the Elimination of Cervical Cancer as a Public Health Problem, which by 2030, aim to have:
- 90% of girls fully vaccinated with the HPV vaccine by 15 years of age;
- 70% of women screened with a high-precision test at 35 and 45 years of age; and
- 90% of women who are diagnosed with cervical disease receive treatment and care.
Almost all cases of cervical cancer are associated with HPV, which also plays a role in nearly 70% of oral cancers. Although many European countries offer cervical cancer screening and widespread HPV vaccination programmes, several of these countries, including Germany and France, have reported a HPV vaccine uptake of less than 50%, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
Several European countries, including Austria, Croatia and the UK, have recently extended their HPV vaccination programmes to cover adolescent boys as well as girls.
“HPV cancers and diseases affect hundreds of thousands of people across Europe every year,” said Dr Nigel Carter, OBE, chief executive of the Oral Health Foundation.
“We now have an effective vaccination that can protect people against HPV, but despite this, most countries across Europe are not yet vaccinating both boys and girls,” he continued.
“In September, when the UK extended the HPV vaccination to boys, it was one of the most important and significant milestones in public health in recent times. It was a decision that will save thousands of lives. This now needs extending across Europe,” Carter concluded.
ECCO’s resolution on HPV can be accessed here.
Tags:
RUGBY – Although the number of cancers linked to the human papillomavirus (HPV) has increased in recent years, especially among men, HPV vaccination ...
LIVERPOOL – Owing to the absence of a uniform testing standard within the NHS, researchers have analysed a new test developed to classify ...
RUGBY, UK: In summer, people around the world poured a bucket of ice-cold water over their heads as part of a campaign initiated by the ALS (amyotrophic ...
DERBY, UK: A study conducted by University of Derby researchers has confirmed previous findings of a link between certain lifestyle choices and a higher ...
LONDON, UK: General awareness of mouth cancer in the UK remains dangerously low, despite more than 7,500 people being diagnosed with mouth cancer annually. ...
CAMBRIDGE, UK: Patients with mouth cancer wait for around one month after first spotting symptoms before visiting their general practitioner; those with ...
COVENTRY, UK: The impact artificial intelligence is having on the healthcare industry is becoming more and more evident on a daily basis. In dentistry, some...
KILMARNOCK – A dentist from Scotland has been placed under one-year supervision after failing to identify a cancerous ulcer in the mouth of a patient....
LONDON, UK: The Oral Health Foundation has called on dental and health professionals to raise awareness of mouth, or oral, cancer and communicate the ...
RUGBY, UK: A charity team is set to tackle the daunting Striding Edge challenge to raise money and help continue the fight against mouth cancer in the UK. ...
Live webinar
Fri. 19 July 2024
1:00 am UTC (London)
Live webinar
Tue. 6 August 2024
11:00 pm UTC (London)
Live webinar
Wed. 14 August 2024
12:00 am UTC (London)
Live webinar
Wed. 21 August 2024
2:00 pm UTC (London)
Dr. Jim Lai DMD, MSc(Perio), EdD, FRCD(C)
Live webinar
Thu. 29 August 2024
1:00 am UTC (London)
Live webinar
Mon. 2 September 2024
10:00 am UTC (London)
Live webinar
Tue. 3 September 2024
4:00 pm UTC (London)
To post a reply please login or register