More than 1,800 health experts have gathered in Edinburgh this week to further the prevention of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and other associated diseases and cancers.
The 36th International Papillomavirus Conference is taking place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, (EICC) bringing together researchers, clinicians and other health professional to discuss HPV, which is associated with more than 90% of cervical cancer cases.
A study earlier this year by Cancer Research UK, led by experts at Queen Mary University of London, revealed that the HPV vaccine combined with cervical screening can dramatically reduce cervical cancer to the point where almost no-one develops it.
Globally, an estimated 620,000 new cervical cancer diagnoses and 70,000 HPV related cancers in men are diagnosed each year. HPV is responsible for almost all cases of cervical and anal cancer and is associated with cancers of the throat, vulva and penis.
The four-day event, which runs until Friday, is organised by the International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS) as part of its mission to contribute to the elimination of HPV-related diseases.
The EICC has supported the IPVS in a public awareness and engagement campaign targeting Scottish schools, colleges and universities, with a focus on communities with low vaccination rates, to raise awareness and facilitate access.
Today the EICC will be part of a string of Scottish landmarks to light up in purple to drive visibility and increase awareness of HPV across the country. Light-ups are an established feature of International HPV Awareness Day each 4 March which is coordinated by IPVS in partnership with more than 100 organisations around the world. Other locations to lighting up purple today include the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier University, University of Glasgow and University of Aberdeen.
Professor Suzanne Garland, IPVS President and Co-Chair of IPVC 2024, said: “Thirty-two years ago, Edinburgh hosted the 11th IPVC, at which time the path to cervical cancer being eliminated was being opened, with the availability of safe, effective vaccines from 2007, and high precision cervical screening tools.
“With the 36th IPVC returning to Edinburgh, researchers and scientists from all over the world are meeting to discuss how these practices can be achieved globally by following the WHO strategy of 90-70-90 (90% of young girls being vaccinated, 70% of women screened at least twice in a lifetime at 35 and 45 years of age, and 90% of cancer or pre-cancer being appropriately treated).
“It is especially fitting that the IPVC returns to Scotland, with its network of HPV investigators establishing the country as a world leader in vaccine effectiveness and HPV expertise.”
Gayle McGuinn, Head of Associations at EICC, said: “IPVC 2024 is a large-scale conference, bringing experts, researchers and clinicians to Edinburgh from across the world, around a subject matter which permeates society and affects every individual on the planet.
“We’re really proud to support the International Papillomavirus Society with the important public awareness campaign that surrounds their conferences, and which is delivering tangible societal impact through their engagement programme with schools and universities.”
Stephen Rafferty is a former crime correspondent at The Scotsman and was a staff reporter for the Daily Record and Edinburgh Evening News. He has freelanced for many of the Scottish and UK national newspaper titles. Got a story? Get in touch - stephen@theedinburghreporter.co.uk
