Navarra makes progress in preventing cervical cancer

Dr. Silvia Carlos, professor at the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Navarra, traveled to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, to take new steps in the Elikia program to prevent breast cancer. Cervix.

In the African country, cervical cancer or cervical cancer, along with breast cancer, is the cancer that causes the most deaths among women. Despite this, “preventive strategies are poorly represented in the country.” “A large percentage of people have early sexual intercourse, report having multiple sexual partners, or engage in other risky behavior that contributes to infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes this cancer,” explained Professor Silvia Carlos.

Project Eliquia, a hope for Lingala, began to take shape in 2017 with the help of Dr. Luis Chiva, director of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the University Hospital of Navarra, who traveled to the Congo during the summer with a group of students from the Faculty of Medicine and Nursing from the University of Navarra.

During these visits, they demonstrated that “early diagnosis of cervical cancer can be made in a very simple and economical way: all that is needed is a few drops of acetic acid (vinegar) and Lugol’s (betadine), which allows visualization of cervical cancer. Precancerous lesions of the cervix are possible. “The uterus and its treatment”, as commented by Professor Silvia Carlos.

“This year, thanks to funding from the Department of Health of the Government of Navarra, the Friends of Monkole Foundation, ONAY and the generosity of many people, we are able to include new achievements in the project. Early diagnosis will not be limited to campaigns that have already been carried out, but rather we want to introduce an established program into the routine of primary health care of the Monkole Hospital and its four health centers distributed throughout the Kinshasa region,” the specialist emphasized.

Another innovation that this program includes is the ability to conduct an HPV test on a vaginal sample collected by the patient herself, and receive results within one hour, “which will allow women in urban and rural areas to come with more than just a diagnosis. but also in the local treatment of precancerous lesions, if present,” added Silvia Carlos.