China CDC Weekly

Foreword

Accelerating Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control in China to

Cervical cancer is one of many types of cancers that severely threaten women’s health. Each year, 604,000 new
cases of cervical cancer appear with 342,000 related deaths globally. China represents about 18% of global
incidences and 17% of global deaths (1). The China Cancer Registry’s annual report determined that, in 2020,
world-standardized incidence rate of cervical cancer was 11.35 per 100,000 women — accompanied by a mortality
rate of 3.42 per 100,000 women in China; further, both have demonstrated upward trends (2). Thus, China faces
serious challenges with cervical cancer prevention and control: creating a major public health problem that severely
threatens women’s health.
China has long paid great attention to the prevention and treatment of cervical cancer. In 2009, China initiated a
screening program for cervical cancer and breast cancer for rural women as a National Major Public Health Service
Project (3), leading to the improvement of cervical cancer screening coverage nationwide. Following this initiative,
free screening was provided to rural women aged 35–64 years in the same project areas. Relevant agencies explored
options around building screening service systems suitable for local healthcare operations and optimized the
screening program’s implementation plan, which gradually formed institutionalized and standardized operation
mechanisms for regular cervical cancer screening services. In recent years, different local provinces and regions have
also been actively exploring effective models for comprehensive prevention and treatment of cervical cancer. In
many regions, cervical cancer screening has been launched as a local public welfare project, with the aim of building
a full-chain, closed-loop management model for cervical cancer prevention and treatment. In addition, big data has
been used to promote scientific, standardized, and precise prevention and treatment of cervical cancer. In 2019, the
national cervical cancer screening program became a National Basic Public Health Service Project in order to further
expand screening coverage of cervical cancer. The Healthy China Action Plan (2019–2030) further specified
objectives and strategies for gradually improving screening coverage of cervical cancer, promoting Human
Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, and improving the accessibility of HPV vaccines (4).
With advances in science and technology, and improved prevention and control measures, it has been proven that
the incidence and mortality of cervical cancer can be greatly reduced (or even eliminated) through multi-pronged
prevention measures. In November 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially released the Global
Strategy for Accelerating the Elimination of Cervical Cancer as a Public Health Problem, which depicted the grand
vision of eliminating cervical cancer by the end of this century. The strategy proposed the goal of “90-70-90”, which
stated that, by 2030, 90% of girls will have completed HPV vaccination by the age of 15; 70% of women will have
been screened for high-precision tests by the age of 35–45; and 90% of women with cervical precancerous lesions
and cervical cancer will have received treatment (5). China has actively responded to the WHO strategy and
prioritized the prevention and control of cervical cancer. In the newly released China Women’s Development
Guidelines (2021–2030), China clearly identified objectives including raising women’s awareness of cervical cancer
prevention and treatment, continuously improving the prevention and treatment capacity for cervical cancer, and
achieving 70% screening coverage of targeted female age groups (6). To effectively achieve these objectives, several
strategies and measures were also recommended as follows. First, China must increase the dissemination of health
knowledge among women and improve public awareness of core knowledge about cervical cancer prevention and
treatment. Second, China needs to actively promote free HPV vaccination for school-aged girls in areas where
conditions permit, while gradually increasing the HPV vaccination rate for girls aged 9‒14 years, as well as promote
pilots and accelerate public health campaign publicity. Third, China should continue to implement women’s
cervical cancer screening programs and comprehensively accelerate the improvement of cervical cancer screening
rates among women. Fourth, China has to strengthen innovative applications of cervical cancer screening and
diagnostic technologies, explore screening methods and strategies suitable for China, focus on improving the

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screening and service capacities of local institutions, strengthen the building of information management systems
and big data applications, and strengthen quality control, monitoring, and evaluation. Finally, China needs to
improve the tracking and management of those with abnormal screening results, strengthen the connectivity
between screening and follow-up diagnosis and treatment services, and promote early diagnosis and treatment (7).
Given the massive number of women in China, as well as regional imbalances of health resources, it has been
found that the provision of basic services in cervical cancer (vaccination, screening, and treatment) is still lacking.
HPV vaccination has begun only recently and faces a supply shortage due to insufficient domestic production
capacity, while HPV vaccination rate in the targeted 9–14 age groups remains quite low. Women’s awareness of
cervical cancer screening as well as screening coverage rates are both low, and gaps exist in the provision of high-
precision screening techniques and system management that ensures quality control of screening and follow-up
treatment. China still faces many challenges in trying to meet the objectives of the cervical cancer elimination
strategy. It is essential that cervical cancer elimination models are adjusted to suit China’s needs and current
circumstances, accommodating the different developmental phases of regions in particular, in order to help achieve
China’s goal of the elimination of cervical cancer.
This Weekly issue convened a special issue on cervical cancer prevention and control. The China Cancer Registry
team was invited to analyze age-specific characteristics and trends, as well as the age-period-cohort (APC) effects of
incidence and mortality of cervical cancer in China using their long-term data (8). Wang’s team applied China’s
Chronic Disease and Nutrition Surveillance data to estimate the latest screening coverage rates of cervical cancer in
China, demonstrating regional and provincial differences as well as the effects of age, education, occupation,
income, and health insurance on screening service utilization (9). Bao et al. multicentric clinical study aimed to
evaluate the effects of multiple screening strategies and the prevalence of human papillomavirus infection in women
with precancerous lesions (10). The study provides ample evidence for the future implementation of HPV-based
screening and vaccination strategies at the population level. Qiu’s team analyzed the distribution of high-risk HPV
subtype infections using local HPV screening data (11). Characterizing the epidemiological trends of HPV subtypes
is beneficial to the identification and follow-up of high-risk populations as well as provides scientific support for
precise prevention and control measures for cervical cancer.
These articles provide evidence from multiple aspects of surveillance and research on the prevention and control
of cervical cancer in China, including the trends and characteristics of cervical cancer incidence and mortality across
different time periods and different regions (urban and rural areas), the distribution of high-risk HPV subtype
infections across populations of women, the association between different HPV infection patterns with high-grade
cervical precancerous lesions before the advent of large-scale HPV vaccinations, and the phased effect and gap of
current implementation of cervical cancer screenings in China. These data and research recommendations are
extremely important for identifying target population groups for prevention and control measures, exploring
suitable screening strategies, achieving precise prevention and control, and proposing future, multi-tier cervical
cancer prevention and control models that suit regions in different developmental phases in China. This special issue
calls for the joint efforts of all parties to continue to reduce the threats of cervical cancer to women’s health and lives
so that one day cervical cancer might be eliminated for good.
doi: 10.46234/ccdcw2022.215
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Corresponding author: Linhong Wang, [email protected].
1
National Center for Chronic and Noncommunicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing,
China; 2 Women’s Health Care Branch, Chinese Preventive Medicine Association, Beijing, China.

Submitted: November 02, 2022; Accepted: November 22, 2022

REFERENCES
1. World Health Organization. Global Cancer Observatory: Cancer Today. https://gco.iarc.fr/today/home. [2022-11-1].
2. He J, Wei WQ. China cancer registry annual report 2020. Beijing: People's Medical Publishing House. 2022. https://book.kongfz.com/575075/
5231142426/. (In Chinese).
3. Women and Children’s Health Division, Department of Health. Department of health and national women’s federation notice of issuance of management
plan of rural women’s “two cancers” screening program. http://www.nhc.gov.cn/fys/s3581/200906/cd3c33a7ad624a50b8100b262041dabe.shtml. [2022-
11-1]. (In Chinese).

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4. Promotion Committee on Healthy China Initiative. Healthy China action plan (2019-2030). http://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2019-07/15/content_5409694.
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219.

Linhong Wang
Professor and Chief Expert of the National Center for Chronic and Noncommunicable
Disease Control and Prevention, China CDC
Women’s Health Care Branch, Chinese Preventive Medicine Association

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