HPV jab could cut cervical cancer risk in older women

WoMeN could slash their risk of cervical cancer by getting the hPV jab even after developing abnormal cells on their cervix, a study suggests.

Girls and boys aged 12 to 13 are routinely offered the human papillomavirus vaccine, which helps prevent tumours caused by the virus. this includes cervical cancer, anal cancer and some head and neck cancers.

however it is not routinely offered to people who were over 13 when it was introduced in 2008. Yet the study by Imperial

College London suggests women who are found to have pre-cancerous cells on their cervix may still benefit from receiving it.

It found that having the jab might stop the lesions returning after surgery, as well as protecting against other cancers caused by hPV. the results showed that the risk of recurrence of ‘high-grade pre-invasive disease’ was reduced by 57 per cent in individuals who were vaccinated along with having had surgical treatment.

the findings were even stronger among women who were found to carry the strains of the virus most linked to cervical cancer.

But the authors stressed that more work was needed to confirm the findings.

eluned hughes of Jo’s Cervical Cancer trust said: ‘We are pleased to see emerging research into the value of using the hPV vaccine to prevent the recurrence of cervical cell changes. recent evidence has found that cases of cervical cancer have fallen 87 per cent since the introduction of the hPV vaccine programme in UK schools.

‘however, women over the age of 27, for whom the vaccine was not available, remain at increased risk of cervical cancer.

‘We look forward to more research in this area and, in the meantime, encourage all women and other people with a cervix to attend their cervical screening.’

the research, published in the BMJ, involved academics examining 18 studies.