CITATION: Lancet eClinical Medicine Volume 97103890 July 2026 Open access
Challenges and possible solutions towards reaching global cervical cancer elimination
Laila Sara Arroyo Mühr ety al.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(26)00138-0/fulltext
SUMMARY
Cervical cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality among women, despite being largely preventable through Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, HPV screening, and treatment. The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for global elimination of cervical cancer. While progress has been made in the worldwide implementation of preventive measures, the global uptake (particularly of HPV-based screening) lags behind. However, a major advance is the increased supply of HPV vaccines, propelled partly by the shift to one-dose vaccine schedules, which presents new opportunities for faster cervical cancer elimination using expanded HPV vaccination strategies such as gender-neutral vaccination, catch-up vaccination, and concomitant vaccination and screening. Another major advance is the WHO target product profile that specifies that only the 8 most important types of HPV must be screened for, which greatly improves the specificity and feasibility of HPV-based screening. This article outlines the key challenges, highlights successful examples of innovative strategies, and proposes evidence-based next steps, including specific actions on global prioritization, real-time monitoring, innovation, and equity-driven action.
COMMENT (NPW): HIFA is in discussion with a sponsor to implement a new HIFA project on 'Understanding information needs for improving uptake of cervical cancer screening and treatment'. We hope to be able to confirm this with you shortly.
Best wishes, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org