Women from MENA region as much at risk from cervical cancer as the rest of the world
Updates on the management of cervical pre-cancer discussed at Obs-Gyne expo.
- (1888PressRelease) April 05, 2011 - Dubai, UAE: Currently cervical cancer accounts for 10% of all cancers worldwide, ranking as the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in the world. According to Prof. F. Xavier Bosch from the Cancer Epidemiology and Research Program at the Catalan Institute of Oncology in Barcelona, the idea that the MENA region is at low risk from gynaecological cancers caused by sexually transmitted viruses is no longer true. Recent studies that allow for direct comparison of cervical cancer rates according to geography indicate that the MENA region remains just as much at risk as the rest of the world.
"Cervical cancer is almost always caused by Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)," says Prof. Bosch, who was speaking during the 3rd Obs-Gyne Exhibition and Congress, held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre from 3 - 5 April 2011. "Affecting up to 85% of women worldwide, left untreated HPV can create pre-cancerous lesions on the cervix which can in turn lead to cervical cancer, making regular screening and vaccination a must for women of all ages and backgrounds."
"Up until now, the MENA region has enjoyed a relatively low projection of cervical cancer but with projections indicating a significant increase in cervical cancer rates in the years to come, the right time for preventative medicine is now. Generalised HPV vaccinations coupled with some form of secondary screening goes a long way towards prevention."
This year, gynaecologists and obstetricians benefitted by the combining of the Arab Association of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Societies' (AAOGS) annual meeting with the Obs-Gyne Congress, creating the largest ever gathering of obstetricians and gynaecologists the Middle East Region has seen, drawing more than 55 regional and international experts from around the world to the UAE for the first time.
Running alongside the Pan Arab Obs-Gyne Conference is the Middle East Breast Cancer Conference, both CME accredited by Cleveland Clinic, and the Middle East Midwifery Conference which is regionally accredited by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA).
Over 38 exhibiting companies from 10 countries are present at the IIR Middle East organised event, which showcases healthcare technology and innovation from across the Obs-Gyne medical sector including cervical cancer prevention and HPV vaccines.
"The main focus for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in the Obs-Gyne Exhibition and Congress is cervical cancer prevention," says Lina El Moghrabi, therapy head for GSK Middle East and Africa. "The event is a great opportunity to update the medical community on new data relating to cervical cancer prevention and having such an important pivotal meeting for the area in Dubai - and with the accreditation of the Cleveland Clinic - were the main reasons to raise our level of participation to Platinum Sponsor at the congress. We market over 30 vaccines worldwide to prevent potentially life-threatening or crippling illnesses, and the majority of our vaccine R&D activities are now targeting new vaccine preventable diseases that would help reducing the disease burden on the community and the healthcare systems."
The Obs-Gyne Exhibition and Congress will continue on 5 April, 2011, for its final day at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. For more information about this event, please call +971 (0)4 4072 743 or visit www.obs-gyne.com.
About IIR Middle East:
IIR Middle East is part of Informa Plc. For more information about IIR Middle East, please visit www.iirme.com or www.informa.com.
Informa Exhibitions organises over 100 business to business exhibitions annually via a global network of offices in UK, Brazil, UAE, India, Singapore, China and Australia. For more information, please visit www.informaexhibitions.com.
About GSK:
For more information about GSK, please visit www.gsk.com.
For media enquiries please contact:
Inga Stevens
PR Manager
Life Science Division
IIR Middle East
T: +971 4 407 2743
F: +971 4 336 4021
inga.stevens ( @ ) iirme dot com
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