Published online Dec 24, 2024. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v15.i12.1491
Revised: September 5, 2024
Accepted: October 14, 2024
Published online: December 24, 2024
Processing time: 82 Days and 22.7 Hours
Cervical cancer is the second leading cause of death in women worldwide, second only to breast cancer. Around 80% of women have been infected with human papillomavirus (HPV) in their lifetime. Early screening and treatment are effective means of preventing cervical cancer, but due to economic reasons, many parts of the world do not have free screening programs to protect women’s health.
To increase HPV cervical cancer screening in Changsha and reduce the incidence of cervical cancer.
Cervical cancer screening included gynecological examination, vaginal secretion examination and HPV high-risk typing testing. Cervical cytology examination (ThinPrep cytology test) was performed for individuals who test positive for HPV types other than 16 and 18. Vaginal colposcopy examination was performed for HPV16 and 18 positive individuals, as well as for those who were positive for ThinPrep cytology test. If the results of vaginal colposcopy examination were abnormal, histopathological examination was performed. We conducted a cost-benefit analysis after 4 years.
From 2019 to 2022, 523437 women aged 35-64 years in Changsha city were screened and 73313 were positive, with a 14% positive rate. The detection rate of precancerous lesions of cervical cancer was 0.6% and the detection rate of cervical cancer was 0.037%. Among 311212 patients who underwent two cancers examinations, the incidence rate was reduced by more than half in the second examination. The average screening cost per woman was 120 RMB. The average cost of detecting early cases was 10619 RMB, with an early detection cost coefficient of 0.083.
Our screening strategy was effective and cost-effective, making it valuable for early diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer. It is worth promoting in economically limited areas.
Core Tip: With limited funds, we designed a new strategy for human papillomavirus screening for all women in Changsha every 3 years, to increase screening coverage and reduce the incidence of cervical cancer. From 2019 to 2022, 523437 women aged 35-64 years were screened and there were 73313 human papillomavirus-positive women, with a 14% positive rate. The detection rate of precancerous lesions of cervical cancer was 0.6% and the detection rate of cervical cancer was 0.037%. The average screening cost per woman is 120 RMB, with an early detection cost coefficient of 0.15. Our screening strategy was effective and cost-effective.