{"entity":{"id":"idea-moon-eliminate-infection-cancers","kind":"idea","name":"Eliminate infection-caused cancers: HPV, hepatitis B and C, H. pylori and EBV","aka":[],"tldr":"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.","summary":"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.","asOf":"2026-09-08","links":[{"label":"WHO cervical cancer elimination initiative","url":"https://www.who.int/initiatives/cervical-cancer-elimination-initiative"},{"label":"Gavi","url":"https://www.gavi.org/"}],"tags":[],"related":[],"cancers":["cervical","hcc","gastric","head-and-neck"],"sections":[],"technologies":["hpv-vaccine"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":["iarc"],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":["b-prevention-adoption","b-global-access"],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"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.","test":"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","actor":"policy","cost":"large","horizonYears":15},"route":"/ideas/idea-moon-eliminate-infection-cancers/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"cervical","kind":"cancer","name":"Cervical cancer","route":"/cancers/cervical/"},{"id":"gastric","kind":"cancer","name":"Gastric & gastro-oesophageal junction cancer","route":"/cancers/gastric/"},{"id":"head-and-neck","kind":"cancer","name":"Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma","route":"/cancers/head-and-neck/"},{"id":"hcc","kind":"cancer","name":"Hepatocellular carcinoma","route":"/cancers/hcc/"}],"technology":[{"id":"hpv-vaccine","kind":"technology","name":"HPV & HBV vaccination","route":"/technologies/hpv-vaccine/"}],"institution":[{"id":"iarc","kind":"institution","name":"International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC / WHO)","route":"/institutions/iarc/"}],"bottleneck":[{"id":"b-global-access","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Most of the world has almost no cancer care","route":"/bottlenecks/b-global-access/"},{"id":"b-prevention-adoption","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Prevention we already have is not deployed","route":"/bottlenecks/b-prevention-adoption/"}],"roadmap":[{"id":"prevention-roadmap","kind":"roadmap","name":"Cancer prevention roadmap: tobacco control and vaccines → biomarker-guided chemoprevention → interception in carriers","route":"/roadmaps/prevention-roadmap/"}]}}