(Press-News.org) While there have been substantial improvements in mortality rates and an increase in access to reproductive health interventions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the global health community is neglecting prevention, screening, and treatment for cervical cancer in LMICs. These are the conclusions of a new article in PLOS Medicine this week by Ruby Singhrao and colleagues from the University of California San Francisco, San Francisco.
Using a framework including equity and socio-economic, gender, public health, and health services dimensions, the authors propose four arguments for why cervical cancer screening and treatment should be included as part of the "post-2015 development agenda," for improving reproductive and maternal health outcomes. They argue that the burden of cervical cancer falls on women of reproductive age and that cervical cancer is associated with reduced reproductive capacity. Furthermore, cervical cancer screening and treatment can be integrated into other health services and recent evidence demonstrates that HPV vaccination can protect girls from pre-cancerous lesions.
"For cervical cancer, we fortunately now have a wide range of feasible, affordable, and effective prevention options, which make dramatic global reductions in cervical cancer incidence a realistic goal in our lifetime", conclude the authors.
###
Funding: No specific funding was received for writing this article.
Competing Interests: GY declared that he is a former Senior Editor of PLOS Medicine and current Freelance Editor, but he played no role in editorial decisions about this essay. GY also declared that the Evidence to Policy initiative has received support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has funded trials of integrated reproductive health services. All other authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Citation: Singhrao R, Huchko M, Yamey G (2013) Reproductive and Maternal Health in the Post 2015 Era: Cervical Cancer Must Be a Priority. PLoS Med 10(8): e1001499. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001499
IN YOUR COVERAGE PLEASE USE THIS URL TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE FREELY AVAILABLE PAPER:
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001499
Contact:
Ruby Singhrao
University of California San Francisco
UNITED STATES
001-415-686-5346
ruby.singhrao@ucsf.edu
Cervical cancer screening and treatment are neglected in low- and middle-income countries
2013-08-14
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Study identifies new culprit that may make aging brains susceptible to neurodegenerative diseases
2013-08-14
STANFORD, Calif. —The steady accumulation of a protein in healthy, aging brains may explain seniors' vulnerability to neurodegenerative disorders, a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine reports.
The study's unexpected findings could fundamentally change the way scientists think about neurodegenerative disease.
The pharmaceutical industry has spent billions of dollars on futile clinical trials directed at treating Alzheimer's disease by ridding brains of a substance called amyloid plaque. But the new findings have identified another ...
Early surgery better than watchful waiting for patients with severe mitral valve regurgitation
2013-08-14
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Patients with severe mitral valve regurgitation who are otherwise healthy should have mitral valve repair surgery sooner rather than later, even if they feel no symptoms, a Mayo Clinic-led study by U.S. and European researchers found. The results challenge the long-held belief that it is safer to "watch and wait" until a patient has symptoms, such as shortness of breath. This is the largest study to show that patients who undergo surgery early after diagnosis have improved long-term survival and lower risk of heart failure.
The findings will be published ...
Heart failure patients who are more likely to benefit from implantation of pacemaker
2013-08-14
In a large population of Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure who underwent implantation of a cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator, patients who had the cardiac characteristics of left bundle-branch block and longer QRS duration had the lowest risks of death and all-cause, cardiovascular, and heart failure readmission, according to a study in the August 14 issue of JAMA.
"Clinical trials have shown that cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) improves symptoms and reduces mortality and readmission among selected patients with heart failure and left ventricular ...
Surgery for heart valve disorder associated with greater long-term survival
2013-08-14
In a study that included patients with mitral valve regurgitation due to a condition known as flail mitral valve leaflets, performance of early surgical correction compared with initial medical management was associated with greater long-term survival and lower risk of heart failure, according to a study in the August 14 issue of JAMA.
"Degenerative mitral regurgitation [backflow of blood from the left ventricle to the left atrium due to mitral valve insufficiency] is common and can be surgically repaired in the vast majority of patients, improving symptoms and restoring ...
Study examines incidence of sports-related sudden death in France
2013-08-14
"Although screening programs prior to participation in sports have been used for many years for young competitive athletes, it has been suggested that screening programs might also be worthwhile in the general population. Description of the incidence of sports-related sudden death by specific sports as well as by sex and age may help inform the debate," write Eloi Marijon, M.D., of the Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, and colleagues.
As reported in a Research Letter, the study was performed in France between 2005 and 2010, and overall, 60 of 96 ...
Ancient mammal relatives cast light on recovery after mass extinction
2013-08-14
The study's findings are surprising as much research so far suggests that the survivors of mass extinctions are often presented with new ecological opportunities because the loss of many species in their communities allows them to evolve new lifestyles and new anatomical features as they fill the roles vacated by the victims. However, it turns out that not all survivors respond in the same way, and some may not be able to exploit fully the new opportunities arising after a mass extinction.
Dr Marcello Ruta of the University of Lincoln, with colleagues from the Field ...
Frontiers news briefs: Aug. 13
2013-08-14
Frontiers in Psychology
People who often recall their dreams respond more strongly to their name
Dreaming remains one of the great mysteries of human cognition. It is still not fully known when dreams occur, and which mechanisms in the brain produce them. A major difficulty for studying dreams is that they leave only a fleeting memory upon awakening.
Perrine Ruby and colleagues from the Lyon Neuroscience Research Center chose a new approach to investigate dreaming. They recorded brain activity of two groups of participants: high dream recallers who recall dreams ...
Brain scans may help diagnose dyslexia
2013-08-14
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- About 10 percent of the U.S. population suffers from dyslexia, a condition that makes learning to read difficult. Dyslexia is usually diagnosed around second grade, but the results of a new study from MIT could help identify those children before they even begin reading, so they can be given extra help earlier.
The study, done with researchers at Boston Children's Hospital, found a correlation between poor pre-reading skills in kindergartners and the size of a brain structure that connects two language-processing areas.
Previous studies have shown that ...
Shortening tails gave early birds a leg up
2013-08-14
A radical shortening of their bony tails over 100 million years ago enabled the earliest birds to develop versatile legs that gave them an evolutionary edge, a new study shows.
A team led by Oxford University scientists examined fossils of the earliest birds from the Cretaceous Period, 145-66 million years ago, when early birds, such as Confuciusornis, Eoenantiornis, and Hongshanornis, lived alongside their dinosaur kin. At this point birds had already evolved powered flight, necessitating changes to their forelimbs, and the team investigated how this new lifestyle related ...
'Hyper-vigilance' about race linked to elevated blood pressure in black patients
2013-08-14
Black patients preoccupied with racial concerns have higher blood pressure than those who aren't, according to results of new Johns Hopkins-led research. The findings suggest that heightened race consciousness could at least in part account for the disproportionately high rate of hypertension in black Americans — the highest prevalence of any group in the United States and one of the highest rates in the world.
"A preoccupation with race among blacks leads to hyper-vigilance, a heightened awareness of their stigmatized status in society and a feeling that they need to ...