•Medics physically collect samples for the test from the cervix and send them to a laboratory for examination under a microscope.
•The examiner checks to see if the cells contain genetic material (called DNA) from types of HPV that cause cancer. More tests may be done to determine the exact type of HPV.
All women aged between 25 and 49 years have been advised to get HPV DNA tests in a move by the government to reduce the burden of cervical cancer in Kenya.
This is after a pilot programme conducted in six counties in the past one year found the method is a game-changer in the detection of cervical cancer as well as its management.
The HPV DNA test is used to check for high-risk HPV infection in women and is recommended by the World Health Organization as the preferred gold standard method for screening women above 30 years.
The report that was launched on Friday in Kisumu recommended that the strategy be scaled up across the country following a successful pilot program implemented across six counties over the past year.
Medics physically collect samples for the test from the cervix and send them to a laboratory for examination under a microscope.
The examiner then checks to see if the cells contain genetic material (called DNA) from types of HPV that cause cancer. More tests may be done to determine the exact type of HPV.
The Health ministry is now working on ways to avail the HPV DNA test in public facilities, starting with 25 county referral hospitals where with the support from the Clinton Health Access Initiative, 80,000 HPV DNA test kits have been provided.
The pilot phase was implemented in Kilifi, Kajiado, Nakuru, Mombasa, Meru and Kitui counties with their choice informed by the significant high cancer burden in respective counties as well as the capacity to successfully run the tests.
“While the pilot itself was negatively affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, it provided an opportunity to restrategise, and gave a basis for some of the lessons from the pilot in the context of Covid-19,” Health CAS Mercy Mwangangi said.
During the pilot, more than 5,000 women were screened for cervical cancer using the new method with a positivity rate of about 14 per cent recorded over the same period.
According head of the National Cancer Control Programme at the ministry Mary Nyangasi, the WHO target for cancer screening recommends that 70 per cent of women should be screened using a high precision test.
“An eligible woman only needs two tests in her lifetime, conducted at 35 and 45 years,” Nyangasi said.
Cervical cancer is amongst the leading causes of cancer deaths among women in Kenya with cancer remaining a major public health concern across the globe.
According to data from the ministry, cancer remains a big public health problem, not just in Kenya and is the second leading NCD after cardiovascular diseases, with 42,000 new cases and 27,000 deaths every year. The top cancers are breast, cervical, prostate, oesophagal and colorectal cancers.
“Kenya has adopted the WHO Global Strategy to Accelerate Cervical Cancer Elimination and the Ministry of Health is working with all stakeholders, bringing everyone on board, to achieve the 90-70-90 targets by 2030, in order to eliminate cervical cancer and make it a disease of the past here in Kenya,” the CAS noted.
The strategy aims to ensure that 90 per cent of girls fully vaccinated with the HPV vaccine by 15 years of age; 70 per cent of women are screened with a high-precision test at 35 and 45 years of age and 90 per cent of women identified with cervical disease receive treatment and care.
“The Ministry of Health launched routine HPV vaccination for our girls in October 2019, and we are slowly but steadily making progress towards achieving the set target, amidst the setbacks caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Despite the fact that the top cancers in Kenya are cancers that can be prevented through screening and early diagnosis, majority of patients are presenting themselves to health facilities in late stages when curative treatment is no longer feasible.