HPV vaccine protects against cervical abnormalities in young women, study finds

Young women who have the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine before they start to be screened for cervical cancer have a significantly reduced risk of cervical abnormalities, a study reported in the BMJ has found.1

Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of the HPV vaccine to prevent cervical lesions associated with types of HPV, but little is known about the effectiveness of the vaccine when delivered to a broader population.

Australia was the first country to implement a publicly funded national vaccination programme in April 2007 and a catch-up programme that ran until December 2009.

To look at the effect of this programme on cervical abnormalities, researchers from Australia used data from population registers in Queensland for a four year period after the …