Health Canada urged to approve HPV self-testing for cervical cancer
Global News
The Canadian Cancer Society is calling on Health Canada to approve self-testing for cervical cancer amid a rise in cases among women in the country.
The Canadian Cancer Society is calling on Health Canada to approve self-testing for cervical cancer amid an increase in cases among women in the country.
“After a 30-year decline, cervical cancer is now the fastest increasing cancer in females, with most cases occurring in women under 50 years of age,” Ciana Van Dusen, advocacy manager of prevention at the CCS, said during a parliamentary meeting of the standing committee on health Thursday.
“This rise is explained by lower uptake in screening and HPV vaccination because virtually all cervical cancers are due to the human papillomavirus infection.”
Van Dusen said this trend can be reversed through prevention and early detection.
“The programmatic shift from Pap to HPV testing as the primary method of cervical screening, with the option of self-testing can better detect cervical cancer and reduce barriers due to socio-economic factors or lack of access to a health care provider,” she told MPs in French.
“We are calling on Health Canada to approve self-testing,” Van Dusen said. “We know that there are provinces that are going forward with or without this approval, and that’s B.C. and P.E.I.”
“However, other provinces and territories have said that this is a barrier to their ability to bring this test to Canadians, so that is something very tangible today that we can do to make it more accessible,” she added.
HPV is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections in Canada, with as many as 75 per cent of sexually active adults estimated to develop it at some point in their lives.
