Cervical Cancer Screening in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Cervical cancer is a leading cause of death among women in the developing world. Conventional cytology-based cervical cancer screening programs have been largely ineffectual at reducing the cervical cancer burden in low-resource settings. In response, alternative strategies have been tested, such as visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) screening and human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA-based testing. This manuscript reviews literature addressing the programmatic approaches to implementing cervical cancer screening programs in low-resource settings, highlighting the challenges, barriers, and successes related to the use of cytology, VIA, and HPV-DNA based screening programs. Mt Sinai J Med 78:319-326, 2011. (C) 2011 Mount Sinai School of Medicine