The Ministry of Health announced this week the incorporation into the Unified Health System (SUS) of a test for detecting HPV in women classified by the Ministry itself as innovative.
The technology uses molecular testing to detect the virus and screen for cervical cancer.
Professor and researcher at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), gynecologist Júlio César Teixeira has been conducting, for almost seven years, an HPV screening program that uses the test that will now be made available on the public network.
In an interview with Agência Brasil, the doctor confirmed the innovative nature of the test and explained that the proposal is for it to replace the exam popularly known as the Pap smear.
“It is a test carried out by a machine, that is, it has an error close to zero, while the Pap smear has many stages where there is a lot of human interference”.
Also according to the gynecologist, the technology allows testing to be carried out only every five years, while HPV screening through the Pap smear must be carried out every three years.
Teixeira also detailed the relationship between HPV infection and some types of cancer that go beyond cervical cancer, such as cancer of the mouth, vulva, penis and anal canal.
For the specialist, HPV testing, combined with early vaccination in adolescents up to 15 years old, could change the public health scenario in the country.
Currently, 16 women die from cervical cancer in Brazil — one every 82 minutes, with an average age of 45 years. “This could be avoided. That’s our focus.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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