WHO team to identify centres for trial of cervical cancer vaccine

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-family:="" times="" new="" roman="" class="author">Sourav Sanyal</span><br />CHANDIGARH: WHO is sending a team of experts to India to initiate talks with select centres for starting clinical trials of the first-ever HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) vaccine early next year. <br />HPV is recognised worldwide as the causative agent of cervical cancer.It is estimated national cervical cancer prevalence rate is about 40 pc.<br />Speaking to Times News Network on Saturday, Prof NK Ganguly, director general, Indian Council of Medical Research, said, "A team from WHO, which is closely associated with the cervical cancer prevention programme, would be visiting India shortly to identify centres where the clinical trials can be conducted. Expected to come down in January-February next year, the team would be holding detailed discussions with specialists here at the respective centres." Prof Ganguly was here for the inaugural function of the conference of the Indian Academy of Cytologists.<br />Describing the vaccine as an outcome of "decades of research", Prof Subhas Gupta, head, department of cytology, PGI, said, "Going by the initial findings of the phase I trials of the vaccine, which have been conducted at a few places abroad, it appears very effective. PGI is likely to be one of the few centres where the trials would be conducted. It was only in the last decade that the definitive role of HPV was established as the causal agent for cervical cancer."<br />Four international companies have been working on developing the vaccine of which one has undergone clinical trials in North America, South America and few cities in Europe. The results of the clinical trials, which have been published recently, show that the vaccine is 100 per cent effective in checking cervical cancer.<br />"Though there is some amount of scepticism about the vaccine being 100 per cent effective, we, however, need to have it here as cervical cancer is the second most prevalent cancer in women, next only to breast cancer.<br />Five centres including Tata Memorial, Mumbai, Cancer Research Institute, Chennai, Institute of Cytology and Preventive Oncology, New Delhi, and Nizam Hospital, Hyderabad, have been collecting data on cervical cancer for some time. The team would meet them and after debates, select the sites where the trials can be conducted.<br />But there are ethical issues which also have to be taken into account before the trials can be conducted," observed Prof Ganguly.<br />Highlighting the "ethical issues" he said, "To make it successful, girls between 14-16 years of age should be vaccinated. However, in Indian context whether respective communities are open to the idea of vaccinating a girl at an young age and undergoing related gynaecological tests, remains to be seen. Moreover, the price tag attached to the vaccine too has to be kept in mind in keeping with the affordability factor." </div> </div>