Australia is on track to become the first country to eliminate cervical cancer by 2035, latest data shows.
Rates of cervical cancer among Australian women continue to fall, according to the report from the Centre for Research Excellence in Cervical Cancer Control.
In 2021, the national cervical cancer rate decreased to 6.3 per 100,000, compared to 6.6 per 100,000 in 2020. For the first time since records began in 1982, there were no cervical cancer cases diagnosed in women under 25 in 2021.
Survival rates are also improving. The five-year survival rate rose to 76.8% in 2017–2021, compared to 73.9% in 2012–2016.
However, HPV vaccination rates and cervical screening participation have both declined slightly from previous years, indicating that more work needs to be done.
The report also found many women had taken up the self-collect option for cervical screening, including many who had previously never or rarely screened.
This option has proved to be popular in Australia’s most under-screened groups – including the First Nations, multicultural, LGBTQIA+, disability, and regional and remote communities.
The federal government’s Own It campaign, designed to increase awareness of the self-collect option among under-screened communities has led to a 45% increase in awareness in target audiences.
