HPV vaccination and cervical cancer prevention in Pakistan: Why are we so far behind?

Areeba Zaidi, Fatima Kameleen, Muddassir Syed Saleem, Ahmed Asad Raza, Abedin Samadi

Abstract readLetter

In one paragraph

Article in Annals of medicine and surgery (2012), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

1citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

Limited discriminant validity of health belief and 3C models in high HPV vaccine coverage settings: the moderating role ofFrontiers in public health · 2026
Article

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Areeba ZaidiDepartment of Medicine, Karachi Medical and Dental College, Karachi, Pakistan.

Fatima KameleenDepartment of Medicine, Karachi Medical and Dental College, Karachi, Pakistan.

Muddassir Syed SaleemDepartment of Medicine, Karachi Medical and Dental College, Karachi, Pakistan.

Ahmed Asad RazaDepartment of Medicine, Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi, Pakistan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0004-2930-8188

Abedin SamadiDepartment of Medicine, Kabul University of Medical Sciences Abu Ali Sina, Kabul, Afghanistan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8614-3924

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cervical cancer remains a major global health challenge, disproportionately affecting women in low- and middle-income countries, largely due to persistent infection with high-risk human papilloma virus (HPV) types 16 and 18. In Pakistan, cervical cancer contributes substantially to female cancer morbidity and mortality, yet HPV vaccination coverage, awareness, and uptake remain critically low. Despite the proven effectiveness of HPV vaccines and screening in preventing cervical cancer, Pakistan faces significant social, logistical, and health system barriers that limit impact. Strengthening integration of HPV vaccination into national immunization programs, expanding culturally sensitive awareness initiatives, improving screening services, and adopting inclusive strategies - such as male vaccination - are essential to meet WHO cervical cancer elimination targets.

Indexed as

cervical cancerHPV vaccinationhuman papillomavirusPakistanpublic health policy

Identifiers

PMID42254232

DOI10.1097/MS9.0000000000004964

PMCPMC13236296

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.