A new study has found that the HPV vaccination has led to major reductions in the number of young women who have the infection, which can cause cervical cancer.
Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) 16 and 18 infections, which cause the majority of cervical cancer cases, decreased by 86% in women aged 16 to 21 who were eligible for the vaccination as adolescents between 2010 and 2016.
The surveillance data from England was published today (Monday 18 June 2018) in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. Overall, declines were seen across 5 high-risk HPV types, which together cause around 90% of cervical cancer cases, as well as low-risk HPV types.
The results suggest that the HPV vaccination programme will bring about large reductions in cervical cancer in the future. Cervical cancer is currently the most common cancer in women under 35, killing around 850 women a year.