The Department of Radiation Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo conducted a questionnaire survey on "cervical cancer" in collaboration with the health information service "Luna Luna" operated by MTI Co., Ltd.2,044 responses were collected (women aged 20 and over).
According to a survey, when asked "Have you ever been vaccinated against the HPV vaccine," which is effective in preventing cervical cancer, 15.9% of the respondents answered "yes" and 83.4% "have not". This was a result that more than 8% of people had never received.By age group, more than half of those in their 20s (52.2%) have been vaccinated, but more than 30% of those in their 9s and older have never been vaccinated. Since 25, the HPV vaccine has become a routine vaccination (subsidized by the public fund).Therefore, it is thought that there are many people in their 6s who have received routine vaccinations.
As for "Have you ever been screened for cervical cancer?", 78.6% of respondents answered "Have been screened."By age group, more than 30% of those in their 8s and above answered that they had received it, while 20% of those in their 56.3s had a drop of nearly 30 points.In addition, 16.5% who “have heard about it and know the content (have never undergone a medical checkup)” and 26.6% who “have heard about it but do not know the content” combined show that women in their 20s It was found that more than 4% had never undergone cervical cancer screening.
When asked about the reasons for not having undergone cervical cancer screening among those who answered that they "have heard of it and know the details (have never undergone a screening)," the number one answer was "examination. 1% said that they were worried about the pain associated with it, followed by 37.7% who said they didn't have time to receive it, and 2% who said it was costly and financially burdensome.
In addition, when we conducted a quiz about radiation therapy and uterine cancer, which are one of the cancer treatment methods, the percentage of correct answers to the quiz increased the higher the health literacy (the ability to select correct information about medical care). I found out.There was no age difference, and even when factors such as education, annual income, cancer history, and family history of radiotherapy were taken into account, the percentage of correct answers to each quiz was most strongly related to the level of health literacy. .
Keiichi Nakagawa, Specially Appointed Professor of the Department of Radiation Oncology, Department of Radiology, University of Tokyo Hospital, said, "Almost 100% of cervical cancers are caused by sexually transmitted HPV, and if the vaccine is given before the age of 17, the incidence rate is reduced. There is also a report that it will be 12%*, and considering that data, there is a possibility that about 9% of cancers can be prevented with the HPV preventive vaccine.This result shows that even Lunalna users who are highly concerned about their health can take cervical cancer as recommended. Only about 3% of respondents underwent cancer screening, and there were many false impressions such as the difficulty of completely curing cancer with radiotherapy and the fact that it was not covered by insurance. In addition to efforts to improve it, I think it is necessary to further raise awareness about the effects and side effects of vaccines."
※Jiyao Lei, Ph.D., Alexander Ploner, Ph.D., et al.HPV Vaccination and the Risk of Invasive Cervical Cancer.N Engl J Med 2020;383:1340-8.
