HPV vaccine helps fight cervical cancer in older women, says study

Injecting the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to women when they are being treated for precancerous lesions may cut the chances of lesions occurring again by more than half, a study has found. Approximately 3 million women in the UK undergo a Pap smear test each year. Treatment is based on the cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) stage with precancerous alterations between 1% and 2%.

Women, who have been diagnosed with high-grade precancerous cells in the cervix, face a lifetime risk of developing cervical cancer. The results showed that those vaccinated in conjunction with surgical treatment of cervical lesions had a 57% reduced risk of recurrence of "high-grade pervasive disease" in comparison to those who were not vaccinated.

The study found an even greater reduction of 74% in those at the highest risk of HPV, the leading cause of cervical cancer. Researchers say vaccination can prevent the recurrence of lesions and protect against other cancers caused by HPV. However, the authors emphasised that more work is needed to confirm the results.


But they said it would be important to study the cost-effectiveness of introducing such changes and that recurrence rates could be reduced with regular screening checks. Last year, a Lancet study found that the incidence of cervical cancer in young women decreased by 90% after the introduction of HPV injections.

According to a study by King's College London, the programme now "nearly eliminates" cervical and cervical cancer in women under the age of 25. For every woman in her 20s, we found that vaccination reduced the number of cervical cancer cases by 40%. This effect was strongest in the youngest cohort who received vaccination at the age of 12 years.

However, this study suggests having a preventive HPV vaccine alongside treatment to reduce the risk of cervical cancer in women.