Cervical Cancer Control in Latin America and the Caribbean Roundtable Policy Brief

Despite the preventable nature of invasive cervical cancer, nearly 70,000 new cases and more than

28,000 deaths occur annually in the Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) region placing

cervical cancer incidence and mortality second highest among cancers in women in the region.

Infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is associated with virtually all cervical cancers.

Approximately 5 to 10% of women infected with high-risk HPV types develop persistent infections,

which can lead to precancerous lesions; HPV types 16 and 18 are associated with about 70% of

cervical cancers. The long delay between time of infection and development of cancer explains the

effectiveness of screening as a prevention strategy. Vaccination of adolescent girls against HPV

and screening of women are the best ways of preventing this disease. Cytology-based screening

programmes have been implemented in most of the LAC region, but the success of these

programmes has been very limited.