Cervavac

In News 

The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) granted market authorisation to Serum Institute of India (SII) to manufacture indigenously-developed India’s first Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus vaccine (qHPV) against cervical cancer.

• Presently India is fully dependent on foreign manufacturers for the HPV vaccine.

About Cervavac

• qHPV vaccine CERVAVAC has demonstrated robust antibody response that is nearly 1,000 times higher than the baseline against all targeted HPV types and in all dose and age groups.
• The vaccine protects women against cervical cancer.

• It is both affordable and accessible.

• The vaccine is very important, particularly for all adolescent girls to protect themselves against cervical cancer.
• The vaccine will ensure prevention of cancers caused by human papillomavirus (Type 6, 11, 16 and 18) vaccine recombinant

About Cervical Cancer

• Two types of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection (16 and 18) cause 70 percent of cervical cancers and precancerous cervical lesions, worldwide. 
• Other types of HPV – also known as the most common viral infection of the reproductive tract – are known to cause sexually transmitted infections or diseases in men and women. 
• Occurrence 
  • It all starts with changes in the cylinder-shaped pipe of tissue.
  •  Cervical cancer develops in women when uncontrolled cell growth occurs in the cervix – the portion that connects the uterus to the birth canal (vagina).
  •  Most cervical cancers originate in the area where the endocervix (upper two-thirds of the cervix from the uterus) and ectocervix (lower part of the cervix closer to the vagina) join.
    • Women who have HIV are six times more likely to develop cervical cancer compared to women without HIV

Data Analysis 

• Lakhs of women are diagnosed every year with cervical cancer as well as few other cancers and the death ratio is also very high and majority of the cervical cancer related deaths occur in low and middle income countries where routine gynaecological screening is minimal or absent.
• Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women. 
  • In India, it is the second most frequent cancer among women between 15 and 44 years of age.

Treatment /Strategy 

•  Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable and treatable forms of cancer as long as it is detected early and managed effectively. 
  • Cervical cancer can be eliminated if all prepubertal girls are given HPV vaccination globally. 
• WHO has also set Cervical Cancer Elimination Strategy Targets for 2030 which entails 90% of girls should be fully vaccinated with the HPV vaccine by the age of 15 while 70% of women should be screened with a high-performance test by 35 years of age and again by 45 years of age.

Source:IE