Cervical cancer elimination: Paving the way for progress

What do you hope to achieve in your new role?

I want to help ensure we’re doing all we can to equip clinicians and pathologists to achieve the best diagnosis possible and access the right treatments sooner. Cancer rates are growing globally in all geographies, and cancer is starting to impact patients at younger ages.1 I’ve learned so much about cancer prevention and early screening, and I’m eager to see how we can broaden our programs and do more for patients.

Where should policymakers invest first in the fight against cancer?

A WHO report from a few years back2 noted that if a country or a health system were going to invest in addressing any particular cancer, it should focus on cervical cancer first, because eliminating cervical cancer could have the biggest and most positive economic and social impact. Every US$1 invested in cervical cancer prevention immediately returns US$3.20 to the economy,3 and when you consider the benefits of women’s improved health on families, communities and societies, the return on investment rises to US$26 per dollar.3 Meeting global cervical cancer elimination targets could add an estimated $28 billion to the world’s economy through 2050.4 It’s a sound economic strategy.5

How does Roche support cervical cancer elimination goals?

We’re very supportive of the WHO’s three-pronged approach to preventing cervical cancer with vaccination, screening and treatment. We predominantly focus on the second tier — screening 70% of women using a high-performance test by the age of 35 and again by the age of 45. Our innovative HPV screening programs reach over 100 nations around the world, including many low- and middle-income countries. We help ministries of health plan and implement programs with confidence. We build trust in communities and create programs that are seamlessly integrated into existing healthcare systems so they can stand the test of time. Our support includes supplying diagnostic tests at affordable prices and leveraging digital tools that help streamline HPV screening programs. We help build workforce capacity with train-the-trainer programs and support labs and technicians with on-the-ground technical and maintenance support. Through these efforts, we link screening programs to diagnosis and treatment, helping create a world where cervical cancer elimination is a real possibility.

How does self-collection impact elimination goals?

Self-collection gives more women access to care because it breaks down barriers to screening. It doesn't have to happen at a hospital or healthcare facility; it could happen in a tent at a local market. This is relevant because the greatest challenge to cervical cancer elimination is getting women screened. Only about a third of eligible women worldwide have ever been screened, by any method.6 That’s a far cry from the WHO’s goal that 70% of women be screened with a high-performance test.7

Self-collection is widely and broadly applicable, whether a community is high income, low income, well-developed, or underresourced. Self-collection helps save women’s lives with basic care and minimal infrastructure. It’s something policymakers could really get behind when looking at strategies for decreasing the burdens of cervical cancer and mortality in their communities.

Can you share a self-collection success story from your experience?

Last year, I traveled to Peru, where the incidence of cervical cancer has been historically high and the rates of preventive screening low. I visited a pilot program that was implemented in partnership with Roche to help increase access to HPV screening. Largely due to self-collection, the program is changing lives. From the Amazon to the Andes, women have been open to self-collection. Initially, the Peruvian Ministry of Health aimed to screen 300,000 women. The program has been so successful, Peru’s Ministry of Health has now expanded it nationwide, screening nearly a million women for HPV, most of whom had never been screened before.

How did it feel to see a successful program in action?

I was struck by how impassioned people were. This included everyone from midwives to OBGYNs to the women running high-tech instruments in modest molecular labs. I learned about pop-up screening clinics at local outdoor markets, where women could buy food and household goods and also complete HPV screening via self-collection. At one screening event, 100 people were expected and over 1,000 showed up. Similar events are being replicated in different markets and regions, and social media influencers are building awareness. The people I met were so proud of the work they were doing to help people in their communities. It was inspiring.

What’s happening with self-collection globally?

It’s expanding. Australia was the first country to use Roche’s self-collection solution, and is on target to be the first country to eliminate cervical cancer by WHO standards.8 In Europe, where Roche has had a self-collection HPV test on the market since 2022, many countries are closing the gap on WHO elimination goals,9,10 and ministries and health systems see the value self-collection can bring. Recent data11 and guidelines12 support this. In the U.S., for the first time, self-collection is an endorsed option.13

This positive momentum creates an opportunity to leapfrog traditional infrastructure barriers in low-income countries by expanding the self-collection model already successful in high-income markets. It could make a huge impact.

What’s on the horizon at Roche?

We’re working on solutions that make testing and treatment for cervical cancer risk more efficient and patient-friendly. At-home self-collection options will offer women the convenience of high-quality HPV screening from the comfort of home. On the technical side, extended genotyping will provide greater specificity and granularity on a patient’s risk profile, further optimizing which patients need immediate treatment and which don’t.

Beyond cervical cancer, we have an incredible portfolio of diagnostic tools for cancer and oncology, and we plan to translate our successes into markets around the world. That’s something we’re uniquely poised to do because of our multinational leadership. In the future, we’ll continue to expand on infrastructure and healthcare system capacity-building to give more people access to life-saving diagnostics that help eliminate diseases like cervical cancer. That’s important to us at Roche, and it’s important to me personally. We’re in an amazing spot to build a brighter future.