January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month

JOIN WITH THE AACR TO FIND BETTER WAYS TO TREAT CERVICAL CANCER

cervical cancer awareness month

While cervical cancer rates in the United States have dropped over the past few decades, the National Cancer Institute projects that approximately 13,820 individuals will be diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2024, and over 4,360 will die from the disease.

Increasing screening and prevention are key components of the effort to eradicate cervical cancer. Since almost all cases of the disease are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, vaccines that protect against the virus could prevent the majority of cases. Moreover, regular Pap tests can catch the disease at the precancerous stage and have been shown to reduce mortality from cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is one of many cancers that can be caused by virus infections.

More on cervical cancer

  • National guidelines say that most women can stop screening for cervical cancer after age 65 if they have a history of negative screening results. However, a study published in the AACR journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention suggested that if cervical cancer is found in women who are past the age of regular screening, the cancer is more likely to be found at a later stage of the disease. AACR’s Cancer Today magazine reported on the study and what it means for older women.
  • On Cancer Research Catalyst, the AACR blog, you can learn more about how researchers are engineering creative solutions around the world to vaccinate, screen, and treat patients with cervical cancer.
  • Black and Hispanic women and low-income and rural populations are especially vulnerable to cervical cancer. Read more in Cancer Today about these disparities in cervical cancer.

What the AACR Is Doing in The Area of cervical cancer research

The AACR is currently supporting three scientific grants in this area, two under the Beginning Investigator Grant for Catalytic Research (BIG Cat) Initiative and one through the Victoria’s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers Career Development Award, in Partnership with Pelotonia & AACR.

The BIG Cat grantees are:

  • Abram Kamiza, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, who is studying “Evolving genetic factors for cervical cancer in women of African ancestry.”
  • Imran O. Morhason-Bello, MD, PhD, a senior lecturer and consultant gynecologist at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, who is researching “Epigenetic biomarkers of anal HPV Infection in women with cervical HPV.”

The researcher supported by Victoria’s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers Career Development Award, in Partnership with Pelotonia & AACR, is Chemtai Mungo, MD, MPH, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who is studying “Feasibility of adjuvant topical therapy for cervical precancer treatment.”

For more information

Please see our page on cervical cancer, including information on prevention, screening, and treatment: Cervical Cancer