Experts call for HPV vaccination, screening scaling to eliminate cervical cancer

New Delhi, Jan 17 (PTI) Government and cancer institutions on Saturday pitched for expanding HPV vaccination, improving screening coverage through self-sampling HPV DNA testing at AIIMS here.

Speaking at the first national summit on Elimination of Cervical Cancer in India, the participants signalled commitment to translate policy intent into on-ground action.

The conference was organised by the departments of Radiation Oncology, Surgical Oncology, and Onco-Anaesthesia and Palliative Medicine, and DRBRAIRCH, AIIMS. The speakers spoke of three pillars in HPV diagnosis and care.

They called for scaling HPV vaccination to strengthen screening through the high-performance HPV DNA testing, which involves self-sampling.

The summit advocated establishing uniform national standard operating procedures and streamlining treatment and follow-up pathways to ensure equitable, high-quality care nationwide.

Speaking at the inaugural session, Aradhana Patnaik, Additional Secretary and Managing Director, National Health Mission (NHM), Union Health Ministry, reaffirmed the government's commitment to eliminating cervical cancer.

"Cervical cancer elimination is an achievable goal for India, and we are fully committed to accelerating action across prevention, screening, and treatment," she said.

Patnaik said the Centre's focus is on rapidly expanding HPV vaccination, strengthening screening at all levels – particularly through high-performance methods such as HPV DNA testing – to ensure timely access to diagnosis and treatment for every woman.

Dr VK Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, highlighted the need for evidence-based models.

"India has a historic opportunity to eliminate cervical cancer, but it requires speed, scale and system-wide alignment," he said. Dr Paul called for pilot projects that demonstrate how HPV DNA-based screening and self-sampling can be implemented on scale, across primary healthcare platforms.

"These insights will help India build a national model that ensures women everywhere benefit from timely screening, accurate diagnostics, and seamless follow-up," he said.

Dr Abhishek Shankar, Assistant Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, DRBRAIRCH, AIIMS, Delhi, stressed cervical cancer can no longer be addressed in silos.

"Convening government, clinicians, innovators, and patient advocates is key to creating the momentum and accountability needed to accelerate prevention, early detection and effective treatment," he said.

Representing the diagnostics industry, Vaibhav Kohli, the head of Marketing, Access and Commercial Excellence at Roche Diagnostics India, stressed the importance of accuracy and accessibility in screening.

The summit brought together over 500 participants, including representatives from AIIMS campuses nationwide, state health departments, cancer institutes, WHO, UNICEF, ICMR, civil society organisations, and industry partners. PTI PLB VN VN