Fighting Cervical Cancer with Vinegar

Globally, more than 473,000 new cases and over 250,000 deaths due to cervical cancer occur each year. According to the National Cervical Cancer Coalition (NCCC), more of 85% of these cases occur in countries with little or no health care resources and where fewer than 5% of women have ever had a Pap test. These women, in many cases, are the sole providers for their families. Most are under 45 years of age. Many are battling not only HIV/AIDs but now are battling cervical cancer as well. In the United States, cervical cancer, once the number one killer of women, now kills far fewer women than cancers of the lung, breast, colon, and skin.

Women with HIV are especially vulnerable to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and this places them at risk of developing cervical cancer as well. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), chronic infections are now known to be tied to other diseases—especially cancers such as cervical cancer.

Most of the women at risk are in Eastern, Western, and Middle Africa; Central America; South-Central Asia; and Melanesia where this cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. India has the highest disease frequency in the world.

While women in richer nations can rely on Pap smears to monitor their cervical health, health care workers in developing countries often work in remote regions, have very few resources, and do not have access to reliable labs for testing. One of the most frustrating aspects of this disease is that cervical cancer is highly preventable with early detection because it usually takes years to develop.

The irony of this global dilemma is that cervical cancer can be screened and treated with low cost, rapid, simple solutions. One of those solutions involves the use of household vinegar (acetic acid)—easily available and very inexpensive. In a method developed by the experts at Johns Hopkins medical school and recently endorsed by the WHO, the visual inspection approach (VIA approach) uses vinegar to detect precancerous lesions on the cervix. The NCCC is just one of several organizations that have been working with low-resource countries around the world to provide this cost-effective method to help women get screened.

During a visual inspection of the cervix, acetic acid, (vinegar) is brushed onto a woman’s cervix. The vinegar causes precancerous lesions to turn white within three to five minutes of application. If precancerous lesions are detected, the lesions can be frozen (using a method called cryotherapy) during the same visit. The cryotherapy approach uses a metal probe cooled by a tank of carbon dioxide (available from any soft drink bottling company). Cryotherapy is considered approximately 90% effective and the main side effect is a mild burning sensation that fades in a day or two. This simple method has been critical in reducing global mortality rates from cervical cancer.

Performed by trained nurses, more than 20 countries have adopted this procedure, including Ghana and Zimbabwe. Thailand has used this process with incredible success and as of September 2011, more than 500,000 women (ages 30 to 44 years) have been screened at least once using VIA.

With this powerful, easy-to-implement solution to a devastating health problem, the course of this disease can be radically altered and millions of lives saved.

Resources:

National Cervical Cancer Coalition. (2009). New HPV test could cut cervical cancer deaths by 50 per cent news. Retrieved December 8, 2011 from http://www.nccc-online.org/view_article.php?news_id=1244

Pan America Health Organization. (2009). Wider use of cervical screening could save lives. Retrieved December 8, 2011 from http://www.paho.org/english/dd/pin/ptoday13_apr05.htm

World Health Organization. (2011). Screening still the “best buy” for tackling cervical cancer. Retrieved December 8, 2011 from http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/89/9/11-030911/en/