Cervical cancer rates in Canada and U.S. are dropping. Experts think they know why Cervical cancer rates in Canada and U.S. are dropping. Experts think they know why Cervical cancer rates in Canada and U.S. are dropping. Experts think they know why Cervical cancer rates in Canada and U.S. are dropping. Experts think they know why Cervical cancer rates in Canada and U.S. are dropping. Experts think they know why Cervical cancer rates in Canada and U.S. are dropping. Experts think they know why Cervical cancer rates in Canada and U.S. are dropping. Experts think they know why Cervical cancer rates in Canada and U.S. are dropping. Experts think they know why Cervical cancer rates in Canada and U.S. are dropping. Experts think they know why Cervical cancer rates in Canada and U.S. are dropping. Experts think they know why

A significant drop in the number of Americans with cervical cancer in the U.S. highlights the effectiveness of the HPV vaccine - a success story also playing out in Canada.

A significant drop in the number of Americans who recently contracted cervical cancer in the U.S. highlights the importance and effectiveness of the HPV vaccine — a success story that is also playing out in Canada, according to Canadian experts.

Data released last week by the American Cancer Society shows a 65-per cent drop in cervical cancer incidence in the U.S. between 2012 and 2019 among women in their early 20s.

This age group of women were the first cohort to receive the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine after it was approved in the U.S. in 2006 — a data point that “foreshadows steep reductions in the burden of human papillomavirus-associated cancers, the majority of which occur in women,” the study says.

While directly comparable Canadian data is not available, cancer incidence numbers do show that Canada has seen a similar decline in cervical cancer rates over the last three decades.

In Canada, cervical cancer incidence decreased from a rate of 11 cases per 100,000 persons in the 1990s to 8.2 cases in 2018, according to data from the Canadian Cancer registry, which does not include Quebec figures.

These declines reflect the success of efforts to screen and vaccinate against HPV and should be celebrated, says Dr. Diane Francoeur, CEO of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada.

“We’re so happy to finally see the impact because we’ve been doing the promotion of (the vaccine) for so many years, and now it’s time to celebrate,” she said.

“For us, it’s really, really good news and we are hoping to share it with every woman because to have a vaccine that can decrease cancer — I mean, it’s major.”