January 18, 2017.
Very few French women have agreed to be vaccinated against cervical cancer. However, this vaccine against the human papillomavirus is the best defense against this cancer.
Cervical cancer kills thousands of women every year
Vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV) is still too little known in France. This is why the French Society of Colposcopy and Cervico-vaginal Pathology (SFCPCV) wished to remind that this vaccine (Gardasil or Cervarix) is an integral part of the prevention against cancer of the cervix. In 2015, this cancer affected nearly 2,800 women in France and killed just over a thousand..
But how to explain this distrust of French women with regard to this vaccine? In 2013, Gardasil was the subject of dozens of complaints from patients. who accused him of having caused autoimmune diseases. But even while the National Medicines Agency (ANSM) and Health Insurance have shown that the vaccine was not in question, the mistrust remained intact.
Complementary prevention to smear screening
However, this vaccine against the human papillomavirus can rule out more than a hundred viruses, of which about fifteen are responsible for cancers of the cervix in women. However, in France, the vaccination rate struggles to reach 15% compared to 85% in the United Kingdom and 90% in Finland. According to the National Cancer Institute, vaccination is recommended for adolescent girls between the ages of 11 and 14.
For women aged 25 to 65, the authorities recommend additional prevention to smear screening every three years. According to the SFCPCV, this screening is not widespread enough in France. The coverage rate would be in the order of 50% to 60% of the women concerned, against 85% in the United Kingdom.
Marine Tertrais
Read also: Medical examinations to be done at 30, 40 and 50 years old
