Cervical cancer screening rates in Japan were significantly affected in the years following the devastating Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, Tohoku University scientists report in the journal PLOS ONE.
Cervical cancer screening rates in Japan were significantly affected in the years following the devastating Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, Tohoku University scientists report in the journal PLOS ONE.
"Conflicts and disasters, and the social isolation that often follows, have a major impact on healthcare and lead to delays in the diagnosis and treatment of cancers," says Tohoku University's Yasuhiro Miki, who specializes in disaster obstetrics and gynecology.
On March 11, 2011, Miyagi Prefecture in eastern Japan experienced a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, followed by a destructive tsunami that affected its coastal areas. Miki and colleagues at Tohoku University, led by disaster scientist Kiyoshi Ito, examined how the earthquake affected cervical cancer screening rates in Miyagi Prefecture.
Across Japan, approximately 15 women per 100,000 people are affected by cervical cancer. This rate is higher than that in countries such as the US (6.5) and South Korea (8.4), and similar to that in India (14.7) and the Philippines (14.9). Also, less than 1% of girls in Japan have received the human papillomavirus vaccine, which protects against cervical cancer. This means that cervical cancer screening is of particular importance for early detection and diagnosis. Even so, cervical cancer screening rates are lower in Japan (42.3% of women aged 20-69) compared to other countries (80% in the US and the UK, for example).
Read more at the Tohoku University
Image: Cervical Cancer Screening Bus (Credit: 2020 Miki et al.)
