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Invited Commentary
May 13, 2019

Screening Options for Preventing Cervical Cancer

Author Affiliations
  • 1Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
  • 2Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
JAMA Intern Med. 2019;179(7):879-880. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.0298

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is responsible for approximately 570 000 cases of cervical cancer worldwide every year.1 Most of these cases of cancer could be prevented, either through early vaccination against high-risk HPV, or by successful screening and management of precursors of cervical cancer. Although childhood vaccination against HPV would be ideal, most women have not received the HPV vaccination and screening for precancerous lesions is generally effective, as long as abnormal results are effectively managed. Despite years of screening, it is still estimated that 13 000 cases of cervical cancer will occur in the United States annually.2

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