Women who were given an HPV vaccination in their early teen years have a practically zero chance of dying from cervical cancer before the age of 30, results from a new landmark study, conducted in the U.K., show.
Research led by experts at Queen Mary University of London shows that deaths have fallen sharply since the vaccine was introduced for schoolgirls aged 12-13 in 2008, with around 200 lives saved in England to date.
Among women aged 20–24 between 2020 and 2024, in whom vaccination coverage was around 88–90 per cent when they were aged 12–13, no deaths occurred, the study says. Without vaccination, 23 deaths would have been likely, it added.
For vaccinated women aged 30-34, the relative risk of death from cervical cancer is 63 per cent lower than that of those who do not have the vaccine, according to the study.
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“It’s incredible to think that a single jab can almost eliminate a particular type of cancer,” said Peter Sasieni, a biostatistician and joint lead of the Centre for Cancer Screening, Prevention and Early Diagnosis at Queen Mary University of London, to the BBC.
According to Cancer Research UK, which funded the study, 3,300 people are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year in the UK, but the vaccine, along with screenings, can significantly reduce that number. Since the pandemic, vaccination rates have dropped.
HPV, a virus which is spread through close skin-to-skin contact, usually during sexual activity, can cause cervical cancer, though nine in 10 HPV cases clear up on their own, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The vaccination also protects against other types of cancers, including those of the vulva, vagina, penis, or anus. HPV can also cause cancer in the back of the throat and in an effort to ensure protection from the virus before young people become sexually active, it is given to girls and boys typically around Grade 8 age, with catch-up shots offered in grades 9 and 10.
The World Health Organization’s global strategy to eliminate cervical cancer strives to have all countries vaccinate 90 per cent of girls against HPV by age 15, screen 70 per cent of women by 35 and again at 45, and treat 90 per cent of those with cervical cancer by the year 2030.
“In the UK, the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem in our lifetime is possible with continued action to improve access to vaccination and screening for all,” Sasieni said in a statement to Cancer Research UK.
Since September 2019, the vaccine has also been available to boys aged 12-13. Anyone who missed their vaccine can request it through the National Health Service (NHS) until age 25.
In Canada, the vaccine is free for eligible young people through school-based programs for students in their early teens, and can be obtained for those who did not get it in school by paying out of pocket.
The three-dose vaccine cycle costs roughly $215 per vaccine.
Even with successful vaccinations for younger people, cervical cancer remains the fourth leading cause of cancer and cancer deaths in women in 2022, with approximately 660,000 new cases and 350,000 deaths worldwide, according to Canadian government data.
If not immunized, it is estimated that 75 per cent of sexually active Canadians will have an HPV infection at some time in their lives.
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