Secondary Prevention of Cervical Cancer Resource-Stratified Guideline Update

An interview with Dr. Surendra Shastri from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX, and Dr. Jose Jeronimo from the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD, co-chairs on "Secondary Prevention of Cervical Cancer: ASCO Resource-Stratified Guideline Update." Dr. Shastri and Dr. Jeronimo review the updated recommendations in the guideline, covering screening, triage, management, follow-up, and considerations for special populations. Read the full guideline at www.asco.org/resource-stratified-guidelines.

TRANSCRIPT

Brittany Harvey: Hello, and welcome to the ASCO Guidelines podcast series brought to you by the ASCO Podcast Network, a collection of nine programs covering a range of educational and scientific content, and offering enriching insight into the world of cancer care. You can find all the shows, including this one, at: asco.org/podcasts. 

My name is Brittany Harvey, and today I'm interviewing Dr. Surendra Shastri from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, and Dr. José Jerónimo from the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland; co-chairs on ‘Secondary Prevention of Cervical Cancer: ASCO Resource-Stratified Guideline Update’.  

Thank you for being here, Dr. Shastri and Dr. Jerónimo. 

Dr. José Jerónimo: My pleasure. 

Dr. Surendra Shastri: Thank you very much. 

Brittany Harvey: First, I'd like to note that ASCO takes great care in the development of its guidelines and ensuring that the ASCO Conflict of Interest policy is followed for each guideline. The full Conflict of Interest information for this guideline panel is available online with a publication of the guideline in the JCO Global Oncology.  

Dr. Shastri, do you have any relevant disclosures that are directly related to this guideline topic? 

Dr. Surendra Shastri: No, I don't have any disclosures. 

Brittany Harvey: Thank you. And Dr. Jerónimo, do you have any relevant disclosures that are directly related to this guideline topic? 

Dr. José Jerónimo: No, I don't have any. 

Brittany Harvey: Thank you both. So, to start us off, Dr. Jerónimo, what prompted this update to ASCO’s guideline on secondary prevention of cervical cancer, last published in 2016? And what is the scope of this guideline update? 

Dr. José Jerónimo: That's a great question. Yes, it's natural for people to start wondering why the guidelines change or are updated so frequently. And I think there are several factors. The main one is that science on cervical cancer and other diseases is evolving very rapidly; there are new publications, there are new technologies, there is new information about different aspects of cervical cancer prevention specifically. The updates of those technologies is so fast that we need to periodically update the guidelines to accommodate these new options. 

Now, I have to highlight that the ASCO guidelines in 2016 -- those guidelines were already very ahead of everyone else. What I mean is, in 2016, we were already recommending HPV testing for everyone all over the planet as a preferred option. It's something that other guidelines, other organizations were still wondering about, but we were really very upfront on that recommendation, considering that that’s the best technology we have. I think the updates of the guidelines is important because we need to keep with science, and we need to keep the doctors using the guidelines also updated on what exactly is out there, and what options could be usable for the different settings. 

Brittany Harvey: Great, thank you for that background on the guideline update and for describing why the guideline needs to be updated over time. So then, Dr. Shastri, as this is a resource-stratified guideline, can you desc