Preventing cervical cancer: pediatricians role.

Cervical cancer is the most common cause of death due to cancer in women, worldwide(1). Each year there are about 500,000 new cases and 275,000 deaths due to cervical cancer globally. The burden of cervical cancer is disproportionately high (>80%) in the developing world(2). One fourth of affected patient population is from India. Current estimates suggest that 132,082 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer leading to 74118 deaths every year and it is the leading cause of ‘years of life lost’ due to any cancer among Indian women(3). The cumulative risk of incidence and mortality amongst Indian women is almost double as compared to that for the world.