Young women at growing risk of cervical cancer

The age of women developing cervical cancer has lowered in recent years, and experts are calling for wider testing to ensure early detection.

Cervical cancer is believed to be caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), which is a factor in the development of over 90 percent of cervical cancer cases.

"In the past few years, the numbers of young women diagnosed with cervical cancer have increased dramatically," said Lang Jinghe, a gynecologist at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital in Beijing.

"In the 1980s, less than 5 percent of women infected with HPV were under the age of 35, now the proportion is rising to 30 percent," Lang said. She said the disease has connections to sexual activity.

In China, cervical cancer is second only to breast cancer as the most common form of cancer among women. About 13,200 new cases are detected each year, and about 30,000 women die of cervical cancer, according to the Ministry of Health.

"A high cure rate can be expected if detected early. But Chinese women are less aware of the disease and seldom to seek out early detection," she said.

"Public education is very important for women to be aware of the disease, especially in rural areas," said Deng Jianmin, general manager of the US medical technology company BD China.

"The situation in big cities is better, where women have a better knowledge and higher awareness of cervical cancer," he said.

The company has recently established an alliance with the German medical device company Qiagen to provide a combination of LCT liquid-based cell detection technology and the digene HC2 HPV test in hospitals in major Chinese cities.

The combination test technology is expected to be rolled out to second and third tier cities in the coming years.

"The accuracy of cervical cancer diagnosis depends on the testing method, the operational level of the hospital equipment and medical personnel," said Qiao Youlin, a cancer expert and a professor of Oncology Research at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences in Beijing.

Earlier this year, the Chinese government announced it would extend its program providing free cervical and breast cancer screenings to rural women for another three years.

The program will see cervical cancer screenings be offered to 10 million rural women in 2012 alone.

The program, started in 2009, has given 11.69 million rural women free cervical cancer tests in about 200 counties nationwide over the past three years.

"The cancer can be cured if found in time. Early detection and regular screening is highly recommended. The government should provide free regular screenings for more women," Qiao said, adding that a nationwide free screening plan should be established.