Medical doctors recently announced a breakthrough in cervical cancer screening. The newly developed hybrid capture II test can detect 13 high-risk types of HPV, resulting in a sensitivity detection rate of 95% for highly pathological cervical lesions and cervical cancer. Therefore, before the National Tumor Prevention and Treatment Consultation Week, Professor Lang Jinghe, Director of Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, and Dr. Qiao Youlin, Director of Epidemiology Department, Institute of Oncology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, called for raising women’s awareness of self-protection of their health and making them realize that cervical cancer is completely preventable; participating in cervical cancer screening and early detection of the disease, no more women should be affected by cervical cancer- — a disease that can be prevented, checked and treated — should not cut off any more women’s lives. Of the tumors, only cervical cancer can be shown to be directly caused by a virus. According to statistics, approximately 470,000 women worldwide develop cervical cancer each year and 230,000 women die from the disease. The familiar actors Anita Mui and Yuan Yuan Li have also lost their lives to this cancer in the last two years. So far, the incidence of cervical cancer is still the second most common gynecological cancer. Professor Lang Jinghe, director of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, said that the cervix is the most common site for malignant tumors to occur in the female reproductive organs, and cervical cancer is second only to breast cancer in terms of damage to a woman’s health and life. We already know that cervical cancer is caused by human papilloma virus infection, called HPV infection. In terms of tumorigenesis, it is cervical cancer that can be proven to be directly caused by the virus. Other cancers can be said to be caused by viruses, genetics and other factors, but cervical cancer can be completely proven to be caused by the virus. From precancerous lesions to the development of a cancer, it usually takes almost 10 years. Professor Lang Jinghe said that through careful screening and examination, we can diagnose very clearly whether it is cervical cancer or not. If it can be diagnosed early and treated early, cervical cancer can be cured. The process of cervical cancer occurs when the human papilloma virus is infected and the lesion occurs. The first one is called precancerous lesion of cervical cancer, which usually takes about 10 years to develop into a cancer. We can fight against cervical cancer together. There is time, but the key is to pay attention to it. This cancer is sexually related and young women before the age of 30 in their sexually active stage are at risk of contracting cervical cancer. HPV infection is not a rare thing and many people will have a lifetime cumulative infection rate of about 70%, but most people do not develop tumors because the infection may be transient and if it is eliminated they will not get cervical cancer. In 1800, an Italian found out that nuns were not allowed to have cervical cancer, thinking it was related to their occupation, but later found out that the cancer was related to sex. It is also important to pay attention to the young age of cervical cancer. The chance of infection increases during a woman’s sexual life and sexually active stage, for example, before the age of 30, and decreases after the age of 30. However, if there is still virus infection after 30 years old, the chance of developing cervical lesion or cervical cancer will be higher. Women should pay attention to the prevention of cervical cancer when they are very active and young. It is time to save lives and time to kill. The earlier the surgery for cervical cancer, the better the results. According to Prof. Jinghe Lang, an important way to improve the healing of cervical cancer is prevention and early detection. Compared with other cases, the area suffering from cervical cancer can be directly observed, unlike the ovaries, which need to go through ultrasound and laparoscopy to be able to be observed because they cannot be seen. If cervical cancer is detected and treated early, there will be good results and it heals very well. Stage I and II can be cured by surgery alone with a cure rate of nearly 90%, and some even reach 98%, but when it comes to stage III and IV, especially stage IV, the cure rate is only about 20%. There is a famous saying of British philosopher Bacon, “Time cures everything”. What saves life is time, what kills life is also time. Seize the time to detect, diagnose and deal with cervical lesions and viral infections early, cervical cancer is completely preventable, treatable, curable and even eradicable. New screening techniques and traditional systems used together can achieve a screening rate of 98%. How to perform screening for cervical cancer? Dr. Qiao Youlin, director of the epidemiology department at the Institute of Oncology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, said that advances in modern science have led to two major breakthroughs in cervical cancer screening methods. The traditional thin-layer liquid-based cytology and automated picture system significantly improves the sensitivity of identifying highly lesional lesions by 15.2 percent. The second generation hybridization capture sensitivity has increased to 95 percent and can detect more than 85 percent of patients, and if the two methods are combined, the screening rate can reach 98 percent. HPV testing is a test that checks for viral infection in a woman’s body and detects the pathogen well before the cells become diseased. If the test is negative, that means the woman is not infected with the virus, meaning her risk of developing cervical cancer or highly pathogenic lesions is virtually zero until her next routine exam. This new screening technology provides assurance that we will beat cervical cancer and that more women will not have their lives cut short by cervical cancer – a disease that can actually be prevented, checked and treated.