Texas Coalition Unveils Five‑Year Plan to Eliminate Cervical Cancer

Overview

• The Texas Lone Star Cervical Cancer Elimination Plan 2027–2032 was unveiled Wednesday at the CPRIT 2026 Innovations Conference by UT MD Anderson and a statewide coalition of more than 40 partners.
• The plan defines elimination as fewer than four new cases per 100,000 women per year and sets numeric 2032 goals of 80% HPV vaccination by age 15, 80% of women up to date on screening, and 80% timely diagnostic follow-up and treatment.
• Key strategies include scaling HPV vaccination, shifting to primary HPV testing with options for self-collection, and expanding patient navigation and community outreach to reach uninsured, rural, border and minority communities.
• Major Texas health systems, academic centers, federally qualified health centers and community groups have pledged commitments to operationalize the roadmap through provider training, school programs and expanded access points.
• Texas currently has a cervical cancer rate of 9.5 per 100,000 with some counties as high as 15–21 per 100,000, so achieving the plan’s targets will require coordinated funding, policy support and sustained local outreach to reduce existing disparities and lower statewide incidence.