New figures reveal that the cervical cancer jab will cut the disease in women under 30 by two thirds by 2025
The figures speak for themselves: the number of women under the age of 30 diagnosed with cervical cancer will drop by almost two thirds by 2025 as a result of the HPV vaccine, according to the latest research.
Girls between the ages of 12 and 13 have been offered the jab in the UK since 2008. As a result, it is predicted that there will be a 63% fall in women in their 20s diagnosed with cervical cancer in the next 15 years.
The study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, calculated the number of cancers that would be prevented by the vaccine, on the basis that 80% of girls took it up. Government figures confirm that 78% of girls had received all three doses of the vaccine.
Cancer research UK's Professor Jack Cuzick, who headed the study from Queen Mary, University of London, said: ‘Our predictions are really encouraging. If girls continue to take up the vaccine, thousands in the future could be prevented from developing cervical cancer, and many more would avoid treatment to remove abnormal pre-cancerous cells.
‘It shows that vaccine has great potential in preventing the disease in the future, but also that it'll take several decades before we see it's full benefits.'
However, it is important to remember that the vaccine does not completely wipe out cervical cancer because it doesn't protect against ever type of high risk HPV. It is essential that women continue to go to cervical screenings when they are invited.
To find out more about Cancer Research UK and their dedication to beating cancer, visit the website www.cancerresearchuk.org.
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