Chennai: After ICO HPV Information Centre listed Chennai among the top five cities with the highest incidence of cervical cancer in women, a recent report on the screening of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) testing in cervical cancer revealed that women aged 16-30 years age group had the highest percentage of positive cases of high-risk HPV.

Though cervical cancer is a preventable form of cancer being a viral infection, it still has a high incidence of around 2,500 new cases every year in the city, as per a recent report from ICO HPV Information Centre.





SRL Diagnostics had done a retrospective analysis of HPV (Human Papillomavirus) testing in cervical cancer screening by analysing samples from women of all age groups.

More than 3,000 women were tested across the country between 2013 and 2017 for high-risk HPV infection by using the standard method of Hybrid Capture II.

The 16-30 years’ age group had the highest percentage of 14 per cent of positive cases of high-risk HPV, and hence a chance of developing cervical cancer.

It was followed by the percentage of women from the 61-85 years’ age group with 8.39 per cent.

Overall, 8.04 per cent women showed high-risk HPV infection. Women from the south zone that included Tamil Nadu had high-risk HPV infection of about 9.78 per cent after highest from the west zone with 10.23 per cent.

“Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection is the major cause of cervical cancer and HPV subtypes-16 and 18 are responsible for about 70 per cent of all cervical ancer cases in women aged 18 to 44 in the state,” Dr R Balaji, consultant oncologist at Apollo Cancer Specialty Hospital.

Cervical cancer prevalence due to smoking is 2.3 percent, contraceptive usage is 3.2 per cent in women aged 15 to 44, and 2.3 per cent due to parity.

“Certain protective practices can help prevent the risk of cervical cancer. Sexual hygiene remains a very important factor inpreventing cervical cancer. Women need to be educated about the risk of cervical cancer due to multiple sexual partners and early initiation of sexual activity, which can be prevented to prevent cervical cancer,” said senior gynaecologist Dr Mala Raj.