Cervical cancer screening among women living with HIV
Export Indicator
Proportion of women living with HIV screened for cervical cancer
Cervical cancer is the second most common type of cancer among women living in low- and middle-income countries, with an estimated 530 000 new cases in 2012 (84% of the new cases worldwide). In high-income countries, programmes are in place that enable women to get screened, making most precancerous lesions identifiable at stages when they can easily be treated and cured. Achieving high coverage of screening of women and treatment of precancerous lesions detected by screening can ensure a low incidence of invasive cervical cancer in high-income countries.
Women living with HIV are more vulnerable than HIV-negative women to being affected by cervical cancer and to developing invasive cancer. Invasive cervical cancer is an AIDS-defining condition. For this reason, screening women living with HIV is important. This can prevent up to 80% of the cases of cervical cancer in these countries.
Number of women living with HIV 30−49 years old who report ever having had a screening test for cervical cancer using any of these methods: VIA, Pap smear and HPV test.
All women respondents living with HIV 30−49 years old.
Numerator/denominator
- Nationally representative population-based surveys
- Programmatic data: If you do not have the number of women living with HIV (aged 30–49 years) who have ever been screened for cervical cancer, you also can provide the number of women who tested positive for HIV among all women (aged 30–49 years) who were screened for cervical cancer.
Data should be collected at least every five years
- Age (30–49 years old or according to national guidelines)
- Place of residence (urban or rural)
Potential limitations include bias through self-report, including mistakenly assuming that any pelvic exam was a test for cervical cancer, and the limited validity of survey instruments.