Cervical cancer screening
The project HARP is working in South Africa and Burkina Faso to improve cervical cancer prevention programmes. Researchers are evaluating the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of alternative screening strategies. A consortium of academic institutions is managing the project. The consortium has established an international scientific advisory group (ISAG), as well as a steering committee and management team. During the study's first phase, the management team developed the research protocol and study procedures. The team also set up community advisory groups and prepared the study settings. Based on recommendations from ISAG, the team restricted the study population to women between the ages of 25 and 50. In South Africa, 471 women have been screened. In Burkina Faso, the number is 460. An additional 710 women (365 in South Africa, 354 in Burkina Faso) have been enrolled. Preliminary data suggest a high prevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection (about 57 %). The results also showed cytological and histological abnormalities.Moving forward, the consortium hopes to have an impact on morbidity, mortality, and quality of life for HIV-infected women. HARP consortium partners are striving to improve capacity for rigorous clinical, laboratory, and epidemiological research.
Keywords
HIV-infected women, Africa, cervical cancer, screening programmes, high-risk HPV, histological abnormalities, epidemiological
