Australia on course to be cervical cancer-free

Australia is on track to eliminate cervical cancer in the next few decades, making it the first country in the world to wipe out the disease.

A study in the Lancet Public Health journal has shown that if vaccination and screening continue at their current level, cancer rates will drop to less than six in 100,000 by 2022 and to below four in 100,000 by 2035.

The current rate in Australia is seven cases per 100,000, compared with 10 per 100,000 in the UK.