07 Jul Cervical Cancer & HPV – Guest post by Dr. Kausar Neyaz

Posted at 12:10h in Cancer Awareness, Partners Column by
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I am Kausar, a research scientist and Founder of Bio-Services, a web based scientific knowledge portal that helps create awareness about common and preventable diseases in women and girls.

One of the most common preventable diseases in women and girls is cervical cancer. Persistent and undiagnosed HPV infection is mainly responsible for cervical cancer.  Prevention of cervical cancer should ideally involve a multi-pronged approach of education, awareness, advocacy, public-private partnerships for HPV vaccination, screening and early treatment of precancerous lesions before they develop into cancer. Cervical cancer can be prevented by performing a simple test called the Pap smear test.  The Pap smear is a simple and painless test, performed in girls or women above 21 years of age and should be repeated once every 3 years. If this test is combined with the HPV DNA test (recommended for women above 30 years of age), then the duration of screening can be increased to 5 years.

One of the many questions that is often asked about cervical cancer is, whether men can get it?  The answer to this is: NO, men cannot get cervical cancer because cervical cancer is “cancer of the cervix” and men don’t have a cervix.

“Cancer” a disease that is associated with the kind of physical and emotional suffering that most of us don’t want to think about it. Unfortunately, we have to because in case of cancer, our thoughts and awareness can go a long way in saving our loved ones.

HPV Infection in sexually active men is not a cause for major concern although in rare cases it has been found to be associated with oral, anal or penis cancer. However according to recent scientific evidence, oropharyngeal cancer is common in men and HPV is one of the potential causative agents.  HPV related cancer in men can be prevented by vaccination and it should be initiated in young boys in the age group of 9 to 14 years. A follow up vaccination schedule of up to 26 years of age is also recommended. The recommended/standard dosage schedule for age group 9-14 years is 2 doses at least 6 months apart; interval between doses should   not be greater than 12-15 months. In case of age group 15-26 years, the requirement is 3 doses.

CAPED (Cancer Awareness, Prevention and Early Detection) Trust has been continuously and proactively engaged in creating cervical cancer awareness since 2014 and I feel incredibly priviledged to be part of it. I would like to thank Mridu, CEO -CAPED for choosing Bio-Services as their knowledge partner. It is our duty as their knowledge partner that in the time of an infodemic we come up with precise and scientifically correct information with the help of our expert panelists.

– Dr. Kausar Neyaz

Founder, Bio-Services



He initiated TQM as a management way in SRF and the Company has so far earned the Deming Prize for two of its businesses, for the tyre cord in 2004 and for the Chemicals Business in 2012.

Mr. Bharat Ram was elected President of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) during 2000-2001 and continued to play important roles as Chair and Member of various council of CII till March 2015. He co-chaired the Indo German Consultative Group (IGCG) which consisted of eminent citizens from both the countries from 2002 till 2014.

Mr. Bharat Ram is actively involved in social development activities. Currently he is Chairman of:

  • SRF Foundation, the social wing of SRF, which manages its own schools and also supports education in villages;
  • The Lady Shri Ram College (LSR) for Women in Delhi which has consistently been rated as one of the two best colleges of India;
  • The Shri Ram Schools; and
  • CAF (India) – Charities Aid Foundation (India); and
  • A governing body member of CAPED– a registered Society for spreading cancer awareness program

He is on the governing body of SPIC Macay, a society for the promotion of the Indian Classical Music. He is himself an accomplished sitar player, having learnt it from Pt. Ravi Shanker.

Mr. Arun Bharat Ram has won many awards and accolades, The Jamshedji Tata Award, which was conferred on him by the Indian Society for Quality (ISQ) for the year 2006 and the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit, presented by the Federal Government of Germany in 2008. Mr. Bharat Ram schooled at the Doon School, Dehra Dun and graduated in Industrial Engineering from the University of Michigan, U.S.A.

Prior to his current appointment, Dr. Vaid practiced and coordinated the Department of Medical Oncology at the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre (RGCI) in Rohini, Delhi, India. In addition to his active medical oncology practice, Dr. Vaid has participated in many national and international clinical trials as a principal and sub-investigator. His clinical interests include Hemato-Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant. He has also taken keen interest in treating breast cancer, lung cancer and genitor-urinary cancers.

Dr. Vaid established the bone marrow transplant services in the private sector in Delhi starting with Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre during the last decade and has cumulatively carried out the largest number of bone marrow transplants in the private sector in Delhi. Currently at Medanta, he leads a large team which comprises of hemato-oncologists, pediatric transplant specialists, hemato pathologists specializing in transplant pathology, transfusion specialists, and molecular pathologists required for HLA typing and post transplant chimerism monitoring.

Dr. Vaid lectures nationally and internationally and has contributed to numerous peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and abstracts. His work has appeared in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Journal of Thoracic Oncology, World Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Diseases International. Dr. Vaid currently chairs the Indian Council of Medical Research Subcommittee on formulating guidelines for treatment of Hodgkin’s Disease in India. He is recognized as Teacher and Examiner for superspeciality course of Medical Oncology by National Board of Examinations and the Bombay University and a reviewer of thesis for award of PhD degree in Life Sciences, Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur, India. He is an editorial board member for the following journals “Research & Reviews: A Journal of Medicine” and “Research & Reviews: A Journal of Toxicology”, and “South Asian Journal of Cancer”.

He was conferred the prestigious “Padma Shree” Award, one of the highest civilian award in India, by the President of India in 2009 for his contribution to the field of medicine on 14th April, 2009.
Prior to Stellaris, Alok was a Partner at another VC firm, Helion Ventures, where he led enterprise software and services investments. Before his career in venture capital, Alok was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of SAP India and had been associated with SAP since the year 2004 in various leadership roles in the United States and in India. Before SAP, Alok also worked with Siebel Systems, The McKenna Group, McKinsey & Company and Cadence Design Systems.

Alok has completed his MBA from INSEAD (France), MS in Computer Sciences from University of Texas, Austin and his B.Tech in Computer Science from IIT Delhi.

Alok is interested in cricket, light & classical Indian music, hiking and long distance running. In addition, Alok is passionate about mathematical puzzles and used to run a weekly blog at http://alokgoyal1971.com/.

Alok’s association with cancer started in 2007 when his mother was diagnosed with a late stage Ovarian Cancer. He saw his mother battle with cancer for more than four years, during which time he was the primary care giver.

Committees / Ambassador Radhika is a part of many committees in CII and is also Pinkathon Ambassador. Social Initiatives

  • Radhika has participated in plays as a lead singer to raise funds for NGO’s like Azad Foundation and CAPED.
  • Mamma Mia Again, ABBA songs Musical, was staged at The Shri Ram Center, Delhi in December 2016 to raise funds for Azad Foundation.
  • I have a Dream, ABBA songs Musical, was staged at Apparel House, Gurgaon to raise funds for CAPED in April 2017.
  • I have a Dream, ABBA songs Musical, was staged at The Shri Ram Center, Delhi to raise funds for CAPED in December 2017.
  • She was also instrumental in staging a play, Khushi Ek Ehsaas, by the visually impaired children of JPM School to raise funds for Blind Relief Association at Kamani Auditorium in January 2016.

Hobbies

  • Radhika learns music at Theme.
  • She also loves to run and has completed 3 half Marathons in India in 2017.

Amitav worked for Bristol Myers Squibb based in Princeton for 5 years. He has been involved with his family-run business since 1994.

Amitav was educated at the Doon School and went on to study Economics at St. Stephens College, Delhi University. He has an MBA from UNC Chapel Hill, USA. He sits on the board of Central Square Foundation, AVPN India and several other non/for-profit organisations in India.

In 2010, he became an Aspen Fellow, in 2015 he became an Ashoka Fellow and 2017 he was incubated as an N/Core Fellow.

Organizational Positions
  • Vice President, Fertility Preservation society of India/ 2014 – 2018
  • Coordinator, Deptt of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Artemis Hospital, Gurgaon, April 2007 – Nov 2009
  • Coordinator, (North India), Clinical Research Committee, Federation of Obstetrics & Gynecology Society of India (FOGSI) 2003-2008
  • Executive Member, Adolescent committee, Association of Obstetrics & Gynaecologists of Delhi (AOGD ) 2006 – 2007
  • Executive Member, Association of Gynaecologic Oncologist of India,2009 -2011
  • Chairperson, Gynaec. Oncology Committee, Gurgaon Obstetrics and Gynaecology Society, 2011
  • Executive Member, Gynaec.Oncology Committee, Association of Obstetrician & Gynaecologists of Delhi (AOGD) 2012 -2014
  • Executive Member, Gurgaon Obstetrics and Gynaecology Society (GOGS), 2012 -2013
  • Coordinator – Young Women Club ( National Project under the aegis of National Adolescent Health Committee, FOGSI) 2012 -2013
  • Treasurer, Asia Oceania Research Organization in Genital infections and Neoplasia ( AOGIN) –India, 2011 -2015
  • Executive member, Gynaec Oncology Committee, Federation of Obstetrics & Gynecology Society of India (FOGSI).2012 -2015
  • Peer Reviewer for the Journal of Federation of Obstetrics & Gynecology Society of India (FOGSI).
  • Peer Reviewer for The Indian Journal of Gynaecologic Oncology.
  • Invited as a trainer by Vattikuti Foundation, Michigan, USA for – Gynaec. Robotic Surgery Training of Gynaecologists at KIMS Vattikuti Institute of Robotic Surgery, Hyderabad
  • Executive member, AOGD(Association of Obsterician and Gynaecologist of Delhi ) 2013 – 2014
  • Executive member, AOGD(Association of Obsterician and Gynaecologist of Delhi ) 2014-2015
  • Executive member,GOGS 2013
  • Executive member, Gynaec.Oncology Committee, Association of Obstetrician & Gynaecologists of Delhi (AOGD) 2013 -2014
  • Executive member, Gynaec.Endoscopy Committee, Association of Obstetrician & Gynaecologists of Delhi (AOGD) 2013 -2014
  • Executive member, International academic exchange committee(FOGSI) 2013 – 2015
  • Executive member, Delhi Society of Gynaec endoscopists.2014- 2015
  • Co-Chairperson, Gynaec.Oncology Committee, Association of Obstetrician & Gynaecologists of Delhi (AOGD) 2015 -2016
  • Executive member, Gynaec Oncology Committee, Federation of Obstetrics & Gynecology Society of India (FOGSI).2015 -2017