title: Recommendations for a national agenda to substantially reduce cervical cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Prophylactic human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines and new HPV screening tests, combined with traditional Pap test screening, provide an unprecedented opportunity to greatly reduce cervical cancer in the USA. Despite these advances, thousands of women continue to be diagnosed with and die of this highly preventable disease each year. This paper describes the initiatives and recommendations of national cervical cancer experts toward preventing and possibly eliminating this disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  In May 2011, Cervical Cancer-Free America, a national initiative, convened a cervical cancer summit in Washington, DC. Over 120 experts from the public and private sector met to develop a national agenda for reducing cervical cancer morbidity and mortality in the USA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Summit participants evaluated four broad challenges to reducing cervical cancer: (1) low use of HPV vaccines, (2) low use of cervical cancer screening, (3) screening errors, and (4) lack of continuity of care for women diagnosed with cervical cancer. The summit offered 12 concrete recommendations to guide future national and local efforts toward this goal.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cervical cancer incidence and mortality can be greatly reduced by better deploying existing methods and systems. The challenge lies in ensuring that the array of available prevention options are accessible and utilized by all age-appropriate women-particularly minority and underserved women who are disproportionately affected by this disease. The consensus was that cervical cancer can be greatly reduced and that prevention efforts can lead the way towards a dramatic reduction in this preventable disease in our country.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7400, USA. jsssmith@email.unc.edu
authors.forename: Jennifer S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Noel T
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Brewer
authors.forename: Debbie
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Saslow
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Alexander
authors.forename: Mildred R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Chernofsky
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Crosby
authors.forename: Libby
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Derting
authors.forename: Leah
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Devlin
authors.forename: Charles J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Dunton
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Engle
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fernandez
authors.forename: Mona
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fouad
authors.forename: Warner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huh
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kinney
authors.forename: Jennifer
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authors.lastname: Pierce
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rios
authors.forename: Mitchel C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Rothholz
authors.forename: Judith C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Shlay
authors.forename: Rivienne
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shedd-Steele
authors.forename: Sally W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Vernon
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: Theresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wynn
authors.forename: Gregory D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Zimet
authors.forename: Baretta R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Casey
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000592:standards*; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000592:standards*; D027383:Papillomaviridae / Q000276:immunology; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology; D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011379:Prognosis; D014481:United States; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000592:standards*
chemical_list: D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines