A group of medical experts have urged government authorities and private organizations, in the UAE, to take urgent measures to tackle the risk to life caused by cervical cancer, after an extensive review revealed it is the second most common life-threatening disease among women after breast cancer around the world.
The experts gave their comments during a round-table that was organized in Dubai as part of the ‘Everything I Can’ cervical cancer campaign in the UAE. The special guest at the event was Dr Gregg C. Sylvester, MD, MPH, Senior Medical Director, Adolescent Vaccines, Medical Affairs and Policy, Merck Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, Merck & Co., Inc and Former Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the US Centres for Disease Control.
Dr Muna Tahlak, MD, FACOG, Consultant and Head of Obs-Gyn Dept, Al Wasl Hospital, and Director of Obs-Gyn Residency Training Programme, and Dr Saad Aswad, Senior Consultant Gynaecological Oncologist and Chairman of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department at Tawam Hospital, Al Ain, also participated in the discussions.
Dr Tahlak said: “We are grateful to the UAE Ministry of Health for its effective measures and support to various campaigns launched by the private sector to spread awareness and prevent the dangers of chronic diseases. We call upon all organizations to cooperate and work together to increase the awareness on health issues, and educate the community about prevention techniques.”
Virtually all cervical cancers are caused by some type of human papillomavirus (HPV), a common virus that infects half of all people at some point in their lives. More than two-thirds of cervical cancer cases are attributed to high-risk HPV types 16 and 18.
Worldwide, cervical cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women after breast cancer with an incidence rate of 9.9 per 100,000 women in UAE, more than twice the 4.8 per 100,000 women a year incidence rate in the wider Middle East. The annual average of reported cervical cancer cases is over 500,000 women worldwide, while cases have more than tripled in the UAE, when compared with the 1998-2004 period.
Dr Aswad said: “A significant increase in the incidence of cervical cancer has been noticed over the past 10 years. When I started working at Tawam hospital in the late 1990s, I used to see one cervical cancer case every month and one pre-invasive case about every two weeks. Now I see about 75-100 cases a year [about eight cases per month].”
Stressing the importance of education and prevention through regular PAP screening, in addition to vaccination, Dr Aswad said: “Most women who have cervical cancer have not had PAP smear tests for a long time. In my experience, most cases of cervical cancer in the UAE are presented for medical care in the latter stages of the disease, when chances of survival become slim.
“In the early stages, cervical cancer may not show any symptoms, but if detected, it is almost 100 per cent curable. The chances of detecting cervical cancer at an early stage are greatly increased by having regular PAP smears. Hence, I always recommend my patients to have regular gynecology checkups. Most importantly, the test is quick, hassle-free and a painless procedure. This simple step can save one’s life.”
In his special session on cervical cancer prevention, Dr Sylvester emphasized the importance of vaccine and regular PAP smears to prevent the disease.
Dr. Sylvester said: “Worldwide, one woman dies from cervical cancer every two minutes. The quadrivalent vaccine can help prevent cervical cancer. However, it does not replace regular PAP smear screening, which needs to be done on an annual basis to be able to detect the virus at an early stage.”
The Dubai round-table formed part of the ‘Everything I Can’ campaign that has been initiated worldwide by pharmaceuticals firm Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc, of the US, and licensed by the UAE Ministry of Health.
