OnCo
ideasIdea

Eliminate infection-caused cancers: HPV, hepatitis B and C, H. pylori and EBV

About one in eight cancers is caused by an infection we can vaccinate against, cure or eradicate. A concerted global programme could make those cancers rare within a generation.

HPV vaccination and screening (WHO cervical elimination strategy), universal hepatitis B birth-dose vaccination, hepatitis C cure with direct-acting antivirals, Helicobacter pylori screen-and-treat (with randomised evidence of gastric cancer reduction) and an EBV vaccine now in early trials together address cancers responsible for millions of cases annually, concentrated in low- and middle-income countries. The proposal is a single financed elimination programme with country targets, pooled procurement, integrated delivery through existing immunisation and primary care platforms, and registry-based tracking of incidence.

Hypothesis
Coordinated delivery achieves WHO cervical elimination targets in participating countries and reduces the combined incidence of liver, gastric and cervical cancer by half by 2050.
Rationale
Every component has proven efficacy; the failure is organisational and financial. Elimination programmes for polio and measles show what coordinated financing achieves.
What would test it
Fund full-package implementation in five high-burden countries and compare cancer incidence trajectories against matched countries over ten years, with coverage metrics as leading indicators.
Maturity
being tested at scale
Who has to act
policy
Cost to try
Large (over $50M)
Years to first evidence
15
Bottlenecks it attacks

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