Cervical cancer deaths fall to zero in young women given vaccine

Around 200 lives have been saved in England so far thanks to a vaccine which protects against cervical cancer, according to analysis published in the Lancet.

The first study of its kind showed that deaths have fallen sharply since school-age girls were offered the human papillomavirus (HPV) jab in 2008.

Between 2020 and 2024, no cervical cancer deaths were recorded in women aged 20 to 24 - the first time that had happened over a five-year period.

Without vaccination, around 23 deaths would have been expected.

"It's incredible to think that a single jab can almost eliminate a particular type of cancer," said Prof Peter Sasieni, the lead researcher at Queen Mary University of London.

The study also found that those children vaccinated at age 12 or 13 now have close to zero risk of dying from the disease before the age of 30.

Before the HPV vaccination campaign, around 20 deaths every year were being recorded in that age group.

Overall, cervical cancer is still the 14th most common cancer among females in the UK, with 3,300 people diagnosed every year.