NLIS 4
May 10, 2000
(Health and Community Services)

The following statement was issued today by Roger Grimes, Minister of Health and Community Services. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

Local researchers leading the way in preventing cervical cancer

It is with admiration that I stand today to recognize the work of Dr. Sam Ratnam and the group of researchers at the province�s Public Health Laboratory. Through the assistance of the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University and the Newfoundland Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation, our researchers have devised a study which sees them leading the charge in the fight against cervical cancer in this country.

Cervical cancer is the second most frequent cause of cancer death in women worldwide after breast cancer, and it affects about 500,000 women around the world each year. In Canada, nearly 1,500 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed each year with about 450 women dying from the disease. In 1997 in Newfoundland, there were about 450 women diagnosed with pre-cancerous signs in the cervix, 58 of whom were confirmed to have invasive cervical cancer.

Dr. Ratnam and the group at the Public Health Laboratory in St. John�s have been recognized both nationally and internationally, including by the International Society for HPV and Cervical Cancer, for their leading-edge work in designing a study which combines the well known Pap smear test with another test for viruses known as the underlying cause of cervical cancer - HPV for short. Recently, the laboratory screened just over 2,000 women between ages 18 and 69 years using the two tests. The conclusion of the study is that a combination of the two tests, rather than one in isolation of the other, could significantly improve the chances of detecting pre-cancerous cervical signs to about 100 per cent. The standard Pap test had a pick-up rate of just 50 per cent on its own. Women then, can be treated early, and hopefully avoid full blown cervical cancer in the future. Newfoundland and Labrador is the only province in Canada to offer the HPV test on a trial basis through gynecologists.

Prevention plays a very important role in our overall health and well-being. The work of local researchers in preventing cervical cancer is critical. On behalf of all honourable members, I wish to commend the people at our Public Health Laboratory for their work in this area.

2000 05 10                                         2:35 p.m.