The risk of dying from cervical cancer is now almost non-existent for young women after HPV vaccination, a major new study reveals.
Children vaccinated between the ages of 12 and 13 against HPV – the human papilloma virus – have almost zero risk of dying from cervical cancer before the age of 30, research shows.
HPV vaccination is a key strategy to eliminate cervical cancer
Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is a key component of global strategies to eliminate cervical cancer. Although a significant decrease in the incidence of cervical cancer has been observed in several countries, evidence of its impact on mortality is scarce. Great Britain introduced a national HPV vaccination program for girls aged 12–13 in 2008 (achieving 80–90 percent coverage before the covid 19 pandemic), with a backlog campaign in 2008–10. for girls aged 14 to 18 years.
The aim was to investigate trends in cervical cancer mortality and to estimate the reduction in cervical cancer deaths in young women in England following the introduction of HPV vaccination.
No deaths from cervical cancer
The first study of its kind published in the specialist journal The Lancet indicates that the number of deaths has fallen sharply since school-age girls began to be offered the vaccine in 2008, and thanks to the vaccine, around 200 lives have been saved in the UK so far.
Between 2020 and 2024, there were no deaths from cervical cancer in women aged 20 to 24, and this was the first time in a five-year period. Without vaccination, around 23 deaths would have been expected.
“It’s incredible to think that one vaccine can almost eliminate a certain type of cancer,” says Professor Peter Sasieni, lead researcher at Queen Mary University in London.
The risk of death from cervical cancer has been reduced to a minimum, an even greater decrease is expected
Overall, cervical cancer remains the 14th most common cancer in women in the UK, with 3,300 diagnoses each year. HPV, a virus that spreads through close skin-to-skin contact, is thought to cause 99 percent of these cases. Most HPV infections clear up without any problems, but some cause abnormal cell changes and can lead to cancer years later.
The authors of the study expect that the number of deaths from this disease will continue to decrease as more people receive the HPV vaccine and vaccinated people age.
Cancer Research UK, which funded the research, described the findings as an “incredible milestone” but warned that vaccination rates in England were below recommended levels. Telegraf.rs.
“We know that the HPV vaccine is extremely effective in stopping cervical cancer before it starts and for the first time these findings show that it saves lives,” said Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK.
