The WHO strategy calls for 90% of girls fully vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV) by age 15; 70% of women screened with a high-performance test by age 35 and again at 45; and 90% of women with pre-cancerous cervical lesions or invasive cancer receiving appropriate treatment.Despite decades of progress, the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem is unevenly distributed worldwide. While high-income countries such as Australia and Finland are approaching the World Health Organization (WHO) target of fewer than 4 cases per 100,000 women, many low-income countries, such as those in sub-Saharan Africa, continue to face incidence rates exceeding 25 per 100,000. Barriers include limited vaccine access, weak screening systems, and inequitable treatment availability. Due to these challenges, deeper research and broader implementation are urgently needed.
A new editorial published (DOI: 10.20892/j.issn.2095-3941.2025.0428) in Cancer Biology & Medicine highlights the critical contributions of Chinese researchers to global cervical cancer prevention. Authored by Dr. Partha Basu of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC/WHO), the article reviews three decades of evidence from China spanning HPV vaccine development, HPV-based screening methods, advanced triaging strategies, novel treatment modalities, and artificial intelligence (AI) in diagnostics. Together, these contributions provide scalable, affordable solutions that could accelerate progress toward eliminating cervical cancer worldwide.
The editorial underscores China's pivotal role in advancing all three pillars of the WHO's cervical cancer elimination strategy: vaccination, screening, and treatment. On vaccination, the WHO has prequalified two Chinese-produced bivalent HPV vaccines, Cecolin® and Walrinvax™, which demonstrated strong efficacy. A newly developed nonavalent vaccine, Cecolin-9, has shown comparable immunogenicity to Gardasil-9, while a 14-valent vaccine is under phase III trial. In screening, Chinese studies validated HPV testing with self-collected samples, demonstrating diagnostic accuracy comparable to physician-collected ones. Large-scale trials confirmed superior sensitivity of PCR-based assays, with additional progress in urine-based HPV testing. Triaging strategies, including HPV 16/18 genotyping and host gene methylation panels, have been shown to reduce overtreatment while improving detection of precancerous lesions. Treatment research from China supported thermal ablation as a highly effective alternative to cryotherapy, with cure rates reaching 90% for CIN1 lesions and around 76% for CIN2+ lesions. Finally, AI-based solutions from Tencent—ranging from cytology slide interpretation to colposcopic image analysis—are reducing reliance on specialists, improving diagnostic precision, and increasing screening capacity. Collectively, these breakthroughs highlight China’sgrowing contribution to global cervical cancer control.
"China's contributions extend far beyond its borders," notes Dr. Partha Basu, lead author of the editorial and scientist at IARC/WHO. "By developing affordable HPV vaccines, validating HPV-based self-sampling, advancing triaging methods, and embracing new technologies like AI, China has provided crucial evidence and tools for countries at all income levels. These innovations not only benefit Chinese women but also hold promise to reduce global inequities in cervical cancer prevention and accelerate progress toward the WHO's elimination targets."
The integration of these advances into public health programs offers powerful opportunities to close global gaps in cervical cancer prevention. Affordable vaccines could expand immunization coverage in resource-limited regions, while self-sampling and AI-assisted screening powered by Tencent could overcome barriers to healthcare access and workforce shortages. Triaging innovations and effective treatments such as thermal ablation ensure that prevention strategies remain both effective and scalable. With strong policy support, these approaches can substantially decrease cervical cancer incidence and mortality worldwide, providing a clear path toward the WHO elimination threshold and advancing health equity on a global scale.
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References
DOI
10.20892/j.issn.2095-3941.2025.0428
Original Source URL
https://doi.org/10.20892/j.issn.2095-3941.2025.0428
About Cancer Biology & Medicine
Cancer Biology & Medicine (CBM) is a peer-reviewed open-access journal sponsored by China Anti-cancer Association (CACA) and Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute & Hospital. The journal monthly provides innovative and significant information on biological basis of cancer, cancer microenvironment, translational cancer research, and all aspects of clinical cancer research. The journal also publishes significant perspectives on indigenous cancer types in China. The journal is indexed in SCOPUS, MEDLINE and SCI (IF 8.4, 5-year IF 6.7), with all full texts freely visible to clinicians and researchers all over the world.