HPV vaccine linked to near-zero cervical cancer death risk before age 30
8 reported
A new study from Queen Mary University of London, funded by Cancer Research UK and published in the Lancet, found that women who received an HPV vaccine in early adolescence have virtually zero risk of dying from cervical cancer before age 30. The analysis used official cancer mortality and vaccination data for women aged 20 to 34 in England. Researchers saw little change in cervical cancer mortality among those never offered the vaccine, but substantial falls among those offered it after the jab was introduced in 2008. For vaccinated women aged 30 to 34, the relative risk of death from the disease is 63% lower. For the first time in recorded history, no women aged 20 to 24 died from cervical cancer in England between 2020 and 2024. The study estimates the vaccine has prevented nearly 200 young women from dying from cervical cancer in England. However, falling vaccination rates — now 75% nationally and 60% in London — could lead to a reversal of these trends, according to the lead author.
What’s reported
The study was conducted by researchers from Queen Mary University of London, funded by Cancer Research UK, and published in the Lancet.
The analysis used official cancer mortality and vaccination data for women aged 20 to 34 in England.
For vaccinated women aged 30 to 34, the relative risk of death from cervical cancer is 63% lower.
No women aged 20 to 24 died from cervical cancer in England between 2020 and 2024.
The HPV vaccine prevents about 90% of cervical cancers, according to the article.
High-risk human papillomaviruses cause 99% of cervical cancer cases, per the World Health Organization.
About 3,300 women in England are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year.
HPV vaccination rates have fallen to 75% nationally and 60% in London, down from close to 90% before the pandemic.
Key figures
Peter Sasieni, professor of cancer epidemiology at Queen Mary University of London and lead author of the study
Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK
Helen Hyndman, lead nurse at The Eve Appeal
Dr Alison Wright, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
Caroline Temmink, NHS Director of Vaccination
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson
Sources: The Guardian
