Roundtable: Promoting a Cervical Cancer Prevention Strategy for Europe- European Parliament (Brussels) 6 June 2012

This highly preventable cancer strikes young women under the age forty-four the hardest. At the Roundtable will discuss how better tackle existing gaps across Europe in terms of implementing an effective prevention strategy.

Nessa Childers, MEP from Ireland and Vice President of MEPs against Cancer (MAC), and Alojz Peterle, MEP from Slovenia and President of MAC - in conjunction with the European Institute of Women’s Health, will analyse in this event the need for a multi-pronged European cervical cancer prevention strategy. Cervical cancer is an example of existing health inequalities as not all women across Europe are benefiting from best practices of cervical cancer prevention.

Worldwide, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women under the age of forty-four. This cancer strikes women in their 30s and 40s, a time when many are bringing up young families, or concentrating on their careers and enjoying busy lives. In the EU, 34,300 women develop and 16,300 die from cervical cancer annually with higher rates in new Member States. On average, there are 175,00 women living with cervical cancer in European Union at any given time.

Cervical cancer is highly preventable through a twin effort of population-based screening programmes and Human Papillomavirus Virus (HPV) vaccines. However, gaps exist across the EU-27 in terms of implementing cervical cancer prevention, therefore sharing of best practice is crucial.