Dr Kenneth Alexander Addresses Indian Doctors on HPV Vaccination & Prevention at International Speaker Program hosted by MSD India

• 98% cervical cancer in India caused by nine HPV serotypes (vs 90% globally)
• 20% global cervical cancer disease burden in India
• HPV Vaccination and timely patient awareness is recommended by various Indianand global medical societies like WHO, IAPCOI,FOGSI, ACIP, CDC, NTAGI[1], FIGO and UICC,as an effective option for the prevention of cervical cancer

Mumbai, April 21, 2023: In an endeavour to address the high prevalence of cervical cancer in India and highlight the importance of vaccination for adolescent girls and boys, MSD India hosted the International Speaker Program, which will be conducted across four metro cities in India where a renowned global expert is invited to address the Indian pediatricians and gynecologists on a series of topics related to HPV disease burden and prevention.

The inaugural discussion by Dr Kenneth Alexander, M.D., PhD, Chief, Divisions of Infectious Diseases, Nemours Children’s Hospital-Florida, U.S.A.,took place in Mumbai, where he addressed over 50healthcare professionals on counselling challenges, HPV disease burden in India, importance of vaccination in eligible cohorts, vaccination coverage in India and the advantages of early vaccination.

India has one of the highest disease burdens of cervical cancer and contributes to 20% of the global cervical cancer burden[2]. It is the second most frequent cancer among women in India. It claims approximately 77,348 lives each year in India, while estimates indicate that 123,907 women annually are diagnosed with cervical cancer.

While addressing the healthcare professionals, Dr Alexander said “A robust awareness movement to make doctors, academics, researchers, and the public, is essential to drive the message of the importance of timely diagnosis of HPV-related disease.  Even more important, we all need to recognize and act upon the preventable nature of HPV.  HPV diseases can be prevented by vaccination.  HPV vaccinationis key to reducing the disease burden in India. HPV vaccine is unanimously endorsed globally as an effective option for preventingcervical cancer.  It is time for India to address the high disease burden through timely counselling with their doctors about the need for HPV vaccination.By doing so working with doctors and promoting HPV vaccination, India has the potential to take a major step forward towards preventing HPV-related cancers in young and mid-life adults”.

Rehan A. Khan, Managing Director – MSD India Region shared, “Cervical cancer continues to remain the second biggest cancer affecting women in India and thus preventive vaccination and awareness is crucial to addressing the disease burden. Education and awareness are important steps towards establishing vaccinations as a critical component of promoting preventive healthcare in India, while reducing vaccine preventable diseases among adolescents andadults. Engaging with global experts to learn from their experience will further empowerthe medical community in India to better address HPV counselling”.

Cervical cancer is a global public health problem, with a particularly high burden in many low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). The proven effectiveness of intervention measures, such as vaccination against the most oncogenic human papilloma virus (HPV) types (the central cause of cervical cancer) and screening, makes cervical cancer a largely preventable disease[3].

In 2020, the WHO launched the global Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer, aiming to reduce the incidence below a threshold of 4 cases per 100 000 women-years in every country and thus narrow international disparities associated with this disease. The 90–70–90 target set by the initiative to be achieved by 2030 requires 90% of girls to be vaccinated by age of 15 years.

Sharing his views on the subject, Dr Mukesh Gupta, MD (Ob-Gyn), DNB – Consultant obstetrician and Gynecologist said, “In India, lack of awareness of cervical cancer and cultural factors discourage parents and families from seeking medical advice. With the high incidence of cervical cancer in India, it is important to educate patients, doctors, researchers, and the community at large on the benefits of vaccination which will lead to elimination of the disease burden in the long-term. While there is an awareness gap at one end of the spectrum, there is also knowledge – action gap at the other end. If we desire to eliminate this health challenge as per the WHO global strategy, it’s time for us to call for action and reach out to masses for primary prevention in form of vaccination, secondary prevention by widespread screening and finally early diagnosis and treatment”.

MSD India will be hosting International Speaker Program events in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, and Kolkatato ensure healthcare professionals in India are well equipped to address the cervical cancer disease burden through learnings and discussion with experts in the subject matter and their global counterparts.

[1]WHO – World Health Organization, IAPCOI -The Indian Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Immunization, ACIP: Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, AAP: American Academy of Pediatrics, CDC: Centre for Disease Control, FOGSI – Federation of Obstetric and Gynecological Societies of India, NTAGI – National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation

[2]Globocan 2020_ Cervical Cancer world fact sheet. Adapted from: https://gco.iarc.fr/today/data/factsheets/cancers/23-Cervix-uteri-fact-sheet.pdfAccessed on 23/07/2021

[3]https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(22)00501-0/fulltext

Corporate Comm India (CCI Newswire)