Cervical Cancer Screening and Treatment Initiatives in China

Industry news | 27 September, 2023 | CACLP

Cervical cancer is a common female malignant tumor. With China's economic and social development and the acceleration of industrialization and urbanization, and the rapid changes in the living environment and lifestyles of the population, the incidence rate of cervical cancer continues to increase and shows a trend towards youth.

In 2022, China's NHC issued a programme on screening for cervical cancer and breast cancer, proposing that by the end of 2025, the cervical cancer screening rate for women of the appropriate age should reach 50%, the early diagnosis rate for cervical cancer should reach 90%, and the early diagnosis rate for breast cancer should reach 70%. It also stressed the need to incorporate core knowledge of the two cancers, screening rates and early diagnosis rates into hospitals’ performance appraisals.

In 2023, NHC and 10 other departments issued the Action Plan Towards the Elimination of Cervical Cancer (2023-2030). The goal is that by 2025, HPV vaccination services for girls of school age will be promoted on a pilot basis, the cervical cancer screening rate for women of school age will reach 50%, and the treatment rate for patients with cervical cancer and precancerous lesions will reach 90%.

By 2030, the pilot HPV vaccination service for school-age girls will be continuously promoted; the cervical cancer screening rate for school-age women will reach 70% and the treatment rate for patients with cervical cancer and precancerous lesions will reach 90%.

The main cause of cervical cancer is persistent high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Tertiary preventive measures, such as HPV vaccination for young women, cervical cancer screening among women of appropriate age, and timely treatment of cervical cancer and pre-cancerous lesions, are effective in preventing, controlling, and ultimately eliminating cervical cancer.

China is in a critical period of accelerating the elimination of cervical cancer, and the use of high-quality screening methods to improve screening coverage is one of the main tools to eliminate cervical cancer. HPV nucleic acid testing is the preferred method recommended by WHO for primary screening of cervical cancer. According to the statistics from CACLP app and data from National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), there are currently 103 HPV test reagents with NMPA registration certificates, involving 46 in vitro diagnostic companies worldwide (in alphabetical order by business name):

Acon Biotech (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd.

Anhui Toneker Biotechnology Co., Ltd.

Beijing Bohui Innovation Biotechnology Group Co., Ltd.

Beijing Haipuwei Biotechnology Co., Ltd.

Beijing BGI-GBI Biotech Co., Ltd.

Kangmei Tianhong Biotech (Beijing) Co., Ltd.

Becton Dickinson GmbH

Guangdong Hybribio Biotech Co., Ltd.

CapitalBio Technology Co., Ltd.

Northeast Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd.

Fosun Diagnostics

Genetel Pharmaceuticals (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.