Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women, and in many countries, populations with difficult access to screening are at greater risk of developing the disease. Prevention programs that can screen and vaccinate against human papillomavirus (HPV) effectively result in a reduction in cancer incidence and mortality.
ELEVATE project from ENSP NOVA aims to empower women to screen their cervical cancer risk, while ensuring quick and easy-to-understand results. The project is developing a simple-to-use, low-cost and portable tool capable of simultaneously detecting 14 types of human papillomavirus (HPV) and two biomarkers – thus allowing the more accurate detection of HPV infections associated with cervical cancer progression.
Funded by the EU, the project is already carrying out studies to identify women with difficult access in Belgium, Brazil, Ecuador and Portugal, in order to identify and rule out possible barriers to early screening and design strategies to make it more accessible.