Issued: [Insert day and date] January 2016, [Insert city and country]
MEDIA ALERT
European Cervical Cancer Prevention Week, 24-30 January 2016
Working together to prevent cervical cancer
Did you know….

Cervical cancer kills one woman in Europe every 18 minutes (Ferlay, 2002)

There are 60,000 new cases of cervical cancer and 30,000 deaths from this disease every year in
Europe (Ferlay, 2002)

Cervical cancer incidence and mortality are 4 to 6 times higher in Eastern Europe than in Western
Europe, and they are also higher in minorities and migrants (WHO, 2007).

Regular screening of women together with the vaccination of adolescent girls could reduce the
risk of cervical cancer by 94% (Goldie 2004)

The primary reason for the differences in cervical cancer rates between Eastern and Western
Europe and between socioeconomic groups is access to effective population-based cervical
cancer prevention programmes (Todorova I, 2009)
<Insert name and title of local spokesperson> commented:
“Many women do not understand the causes of this disease or what they can do to protect
themselves against it. The European Cervical Cancer Prevention Week is dedicated to raising
awareness of cervical cancer and the importance of prevention through organised screening for
women and HPV vaccination for adolescents. Awareness needs to be raised among the women of
Europe so they take advantage of these services where they are available and we also need to raise
awareness among the politicians of Europe so they prioritise the implementation of these services
where they are not already in place.”
<Insert name and title of local HCP> said:
“It has been well established that lower socioeconomic groups and minorities bear an unequal burden
of cervical cancer because these women do not regularly access prevention programmes. Proper
population-based, organised prevention programmes are the most effective way to reduce cervical
cancer rates and they also provide the most equitable protection to all segments of society.”
The European Cervical Cancer Prevention Week (ECCPW) 2016 is focusing on building partnerships
between the organisations that are working to increase access to screening and HPV vaccination,
and reduce inequalities in the provision of these services across Europe. The European Cervical
Cancer Association (ECCA) will be working with departments of health, public health officials, cancer
societies and leagues and other NGOs across Europe to prioritise screening and vaccination services
and educate women on how to protect themselves effectively from cervical cancer by using the
services available to them.
<Insert any local initiatives or activities being undertaking in your market to increase awareness of
cervical cancer>
<Insert name and title of local partner spokesperson> said:
“<insert local partner name> is proud to support the European Cervical Cancer Prevention Week and
help to increase knowledge and understanding about cervical cancer. Effective organised cervical
cancer screening and HPV vaccination programmes for adolescents could prevent almost every case
of cervical cancer provided people take advantage of these services. Through the ECCPW 2016, we
can raise awareness of these essential programmes and help to ensure that women use them.”
To find out more about the ECCPW 2016 and find out about local events:
- <Insert local partner contact details>
ENDS
References

Ferlay J, Bray P, Pizani P, Parkin DM. GLOBOCAN 2002: Cancer incidence, mortality and prevalence
worldwide. IARC CancerBase No. 5, version 2.0. IARC Press, Lyon, 2004. Available at: http://wwwdep.iarc.fr

Goldie SJ, Kohli M, Grima D, Weinstein MC, Wright TC, Bosch FX, Franco E. Projected clinical benefits and
cost-effectiveness of a human papillomavirus 16/18 vaccine. J Natl Cancer Inst 2004; 96: 604-615

World Health Organisation. Strengthening cervical cancer prevention in Europe. 2007. Available from:
http://www.euro.who.int/document/e90992.pdf [Accessed: 30/11/09]

International agency for Research on Cancer. Globocan Database. 2002. Available from: http://wwwdep.iarc.fr/ [1/12/09]

Todorova, I et al. Inequalities in cervical cancer screening in Eastern Europe: perspectives from Bulgaria and
Romania. International Journal of Public Health, 54 (2009) 222–232

World Health Organisation. WHO/ICO Information Centre on Human Papilloma Virus and Cervical Cancer.
Summary Reports. 2007. http://apps.who.int/hpvcentre/statistics/dynamic/ico/SummaryReportsSelect.cfm,
[accessed 6/5/09]

Baseman JG, Koutsky LA. The epidemiology of human papillomavirus infections J Clin Virol 2005; 32 Suppl
1; S16-24

World Health Organisation. Expert Committee on Biological Standardization. Guidelines to assure the
quality, safety and efficacy of recombinant Human Papillomavirus virus-like particle vaccines, accessed on
27/3/2009 at http://screening.iarc.fr/doc/WHO_vaccine_guidelines_2006.pdf

Munoz N, Bosch X, et al. Against which human papillomavirus types shall we vaccinate and screen? The
international perspective. Int J Cancer 2004; 111: 278-85.

Bosch X, Burchell A, Schiffmann M et al. Epidemiology and Natural History of Human Papillomavirus
Infections and Type-Specific Implications in Cervical Neoplasia. Vaccine 26S (2008) K1–K16.

Smith J, et al. Human papillomavirus type distribution in invasive cervical cancer and high-grade cervical
lesions: A meta-analysis update. 2007. Int. J. Cancer 121: 621-632

Descamps D, Hardt K, Spiessens B et al. Safety of human papillomavirus (HPV)-16/18 AS04-adjuvanted
vaccine for cervical cancer prevention, May 2009. Human Vaccines 5:5, 1-9; May 2009

Aguilar JC. Vaccine adjuvants revisited. Vaccine 2007; 25: 3752-3762

Kohl I. Human papillomavirus and cervical cancer: Vaccines against the human papillomavirus - promise of
an efficacious prevention". Klin mikrobiol inf lék 2006;12(3):91-97

Sankaranarayanan R, Gaffikin L, Jacob M, et al. A critical assessment of screening methods for cervical
neoplasia. Int J Gynaecol Obstet 2005; 89 Suppl 2: S4-S12

Garnett GP, Kim JJ, French K, et al. Chapter 21: Modelling the impact of HPV vaccines on cervical cancer
and screening programmes. Vaccine 2006; 24 (S3):178–186

International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Handbook of Cancer Prevention. Volume 10, Cervical
Cancer Screening 2005. Accessed at http://www.iarc.fr/IARCPress/pdfs/handbook10/index.php