Denmark aims to eradicate cervical cancer by 2040 thanks to a national HPV vaccination campaign and screening programme, the Danish Cancer Society said on Monday.
The incidence of cervical cancer in Denmark could be so low in 2040 that the disease will be considered effectively eradicated in the country. “Even before 2040, so few women may have the disease that it may be considered eradicated,” the Danish Cancer Society said in a statement. “It would be the first time a cancer has disappeared,” it said.
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According to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) criteria, the disease would be considered eradicated when there is an incidence rate lower than four per 100,000 women.
The current cervical cancer rate in Denmark is lower than 10 out of 100,000 women, according to a study in the Danish medical journal Ugeskrift for Laeger. The vaccination rate is 89 percent for girls and boys aged 12, for the first of two doses.
Apart from Denmark, Sweden is also in the run for eradicating the cancer. According to Sweden’s Regional Cancer Centres, the country could surpass Denmark by aiming to eradicate cervical cancer by 2027
