KUCHING: Sarawak is on track to test 70 per cent of the state's 1.02 million women aged between 30 and 65 years-old for the human papillomavirus (HPV) by 2030, Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr. Sim Kui Hian said.
HPV is a common sexually transmitted infection (STI).
Speaking after opening a gynaecologic pathology and cytopathology conference in Kuching today, Sim, who is also the minister overseeing public health said the state aims to be the first in the country to eliminate cervical cancer.
He pointed out globally, cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women with an estimated 604,000 new cases and 342,000 deaths in 2020.
In Malaysia, he said, cervical cancer is the third most common malignancy among women with an age-standardised incidence rate of 6.2 per 100,000 population between 2012- 2016.
Sim added the World Health Organisation (WHO) hopes to eliminate cervical cancer through vaccination and screening programmes and has declared that the successful elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem, is defined when the incidence rate is below four per 100,000 population.
"The three goals set by WHO and adopted nationwide in Malaysia to achieve that target are:
90 per cent HPV vaccination coverage among girls aged 13 years, HPV screening coverage of 70 per cent of women aged 30 years to 66 years by year 2030 and 90 per cent treatment of precancerous lesions."
Sim said while the state is on track to reach the target, there are "some problems" that could derail its progress, notably the lack of qualified personnel to undertake the screening, he said.
Sarawak, he pointed out, only has about 850 medical lab technicians, of which only about 20 are qualified cytoscreeners.
"The state also needs pathologists."
He said there are only 18 anatomical pathologists at the Sarawak General Hospital in Kuching and just two at the Miri Hospital.
The Miri Hospital started offering an anatomic pathology service in July 2022 and Sim said the hospital is in the process of strengthening its facilities and human resource.
To ensure greater accuracy of the screening, Sim said the state is also in the transition of offering HPV DNA testing from the traditional conventional Pap and liquid based-smear methods.
Currently, the use of conventional and/ or liquid based cytology smears is about 70 per cent.