Eliminate infection-caused cancers: HPV, hepatitis B and C, H. pylori and EBV
About one in eight cancers is caused by an infection we can vaccinate against, cure or eradicate. A concerted global programme could make those cancers rare within a generation.
HPV vaccination and screening (WHO cervical elimination strategy), universal hepatitis B birth-dose vaccination, hepatitis C cure with direct-acting antivirals, Helicobacter pylori screen-and-treat (with randomised evidence of gastric cancer reduction) and an EBV vaccine now in early trials together address cancers responsible for millions of cases annually, concentrated in low- and middle-income countries. The proposal is a single financed elimination programme with country targets, pooled procurement, integrated delivery through existing immunisation and primary care platforms, and registry-based tracking of incidence.
- Prevention we already have is not deployed · Around four in ten cancers are preventable with tools we already own: vaccines, tobacco control, weight, alcohol, sun and infection control.
- Most of the world has almost no cancer care · Seven in ten cancer deaths happen in low- and middle-income countries, where radiotherapy, pathology, surgery and drugs are scarce.