The Calcutta Municipal Corporation and the Tata Medical Center in New Town have joined hands to screen 1,000 women from the Topsia-Tiljala area for cervical cancer.

According to a doctor of the hospital, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women in India, the first being breast cancer.

Women to be identified for the screening, which is likely to start later this year or early next year, will give their samples (scraped from the cervix) at home or at primary health centres of the civic body.

The screening will be done in wards 56, 57 and 58 as part of a pilot project.

The women will be given a brush to take the scraping, something they can do on their own.

This will make the process easier for the women.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has set a target to eliminate cervical cancer by 2030. “Cervical cancer is preventable and curable, as long as it is detected early and managed effectively,” says the WHO website.

“There are two parts of the project. In the first part, the women will be screened for the presence of human papillomaviruses (HPV), which is the cause of cervical cancer in 99 per cent cases. Those who test positive in the screening will have to undergo confirmatory tests,” said Sonia Mathai, a gynaecological oncologist at the Tata Medical Center and the coordinating officer of the project.

“If the confirmatory test shows precancerous changes in the cervix, the woman will be provided with appropriate treatment at a primary health centre. Women detected with early cervical cancer will be referred to a hospital for the treatment.”

The cost of the tests will be included in funding of the project by the department of biotechnology after final approval. The department has given in-principle approval for the project.

“As part of the project, 1,000 women will be screened in three wards of the CMC. The accredited social health activists (ASHA) will sensitise people and create awareness among women to undergo the test,” said a senior doctor of the CMC.

Mathai said as per Globocan 2020 data, 77,348 women died in India from cervical cancer.

The WHO website says to eliminate cervical cancer by 2030, 90 per cent of the girls had to be fully vaccinated with the HPV vaccine by the age of 15; 70 per cent of women screened by the age of 35, and again by the age of 45, among several other measures to be adopted.