New Local TV Ad Campaign To Educate St. Louis Women About Cervical Cancer Prevention and H...( ST. LOUIS Feb. 9 /- Through a new adv...),Health

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Through a new advertising campaign being launched in St. Louis today, local women will soon learn more about cervical cancer screening and prevention. Cervical cancer is caused by high-risk types of the human papillomavirus (HPV) and QIAGEN, the maker of the only FDA-approved HPV test, has selected St. Louis as a priority market for a new campaign to air its 30-second ad for the digene HPV Test on local TV stations starting today through April 20.

QIAGEN chose St. Louis based on market research data that revealed only 18 percent of eligible women in the region were receiving the HPV DNA test despite the city having a large female population over age 30, strong insurance coverage and access to the latest in cervical screening technology. Additionally, results from a Women in Government (WIG) state assessment of cervical cancer prevention signaled the need for further concentration: Missouri received only a "fair" rating (10 out of 22 measured data points) in WIG's "Turning Challenges Into Opportunities: The 'State' of Cervical Cancer Prevention in America 2008." Women in Government is a national, non-profit, bi-partisan organization of women state legislators.

"Our goal is to educate St. Louis women about the cause of cervical cancer -- high-risk types of the HPV virus -- and inform women that with proper screening, cervical cancer is preventable," said Jeff Schmalz, QIAGEN's director of molecular diagnostic marketing for the Americas. "Through this local ad campaign, we hope to encourage more conversations between women and their doctors or nurses about cervical cancer prevention. Our TV ad shows that combining the HPV test with the Pap smear in women over 30, who are most at risk for cervical cancer, provides the highest level of protection."

"Unlike virtually all other types of cancer, we know the specific cause of cervical cancer and can test for it. If
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