For the first time in recorded history, a five-year stretch passed in England — from 2020 C.E. to 2024 C.E. — without a single cervical cancer death among women aged 20 to 24. A landmark study published by Queen Mary University of London credits the HPV vaccine, introduced to school-age girls in 2008 C.E., with saving around 200 lives in England so far. The findings mark a turning point in what researchers call a model for how vaccination can nearly eliminate a cancer.
At a glance
- HPV vaccine: Girls vaccinated at age 12–13 now have close to zero risk of dying from cervical cancer before age 30, according to the study’s lead researcher.
- Cervical cancer deaths: Between 2020 C.E. and 2024 C.E., no deaths were recorded in women aged 20 to 24 — a period in which roughly 23 deaths would have been expected without vaccination.
- Cancer Research UK: The organization, which funded the research, called the findings an “incredible milestone” and described the vaccine as “extremely effective at stopping cervical cancer before it starts.”
What the research shows
The study is the first of its kind to measure the vaccine’s impact on cervical cancer deaths, not just diagnoses. Prof. Peter Sasieni, the lead researcher and a cancer epidemiology specialist at Queen Mary University of London, described the death reduction as “the tip of the iceberg.”
“As vaccinated generations grow older, we’ll see many more lives saved from cervical cancer,” he said. “It’s incredible to think that a single jab can almost eliminate a particular type of cancer.”
HPV — human papillomavirus — spreads through close skin-to-skin contact and is thought to cause 99% of cervical cancer cases. Most HPV infections clear on their own, but some cause cell changes that can develop into cancer years later. The vaccine targets the strains most likely to lead to cancer, and England began offering it to girls in secondary school starting in 2008 C.E. Boys have been included in the program since 2019 C.E., protecting them against anal, penile, throat, and mouth cancers as well.
A personal story behind the numbers
Alexandra Legg left school just before the HPV vaccine was introduced in England. In 2021 C.E., aged 30 and planning her wedding, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer.
“I remember hearing the words and I just couldn’t really breathe very well,” she said. “Everything went through my head — it was so hard.”
Treatment required the removal of lymph nodes in her abdomen, though surgeons were able to preserve part of her cervix. A year later, her daughter Ivy was born — middle name Marvella, meaning “miracle.” Alexandra now advocates for the vaccine and says her daughter will be “first in the queue” when she is old enough.
Her story is one of many that sit behind the statistics — and one of the reasons researchers and charities want vaccination rates to rise, not fall. It’s also a reminder of the broader global health progress being made through preventive medicine.
The gap between what’s possible and what’s happening
The results carry an urgent caveat. England’s HPV vaccination rates are running below the levels needed to make elimination a reality.
Data from the UK Health Security Agency shows that 76% of girls in England were vaccinated by age 15 in 2024–25 C.E. The World Health Organization recommends 90% coverage to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem. The U.K. government has pledged to reach that goal by 2040 C.E. — but the current shortfall means thousands of young people remain unprotected.
“It’s essential that the U.K. Government and health systems urgently address this with targeted action to reach communities where uptake is the lowest,” said Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK. Dr. Sharif Ismail from the UK Health Security Agency urged any young person who missed their vaccine to come forward now.
Cervical cancer remains the 14th most common cancer among females in the U.K., with around 3,300 people diagnosed each year. Women aged 25 to 64 are still advised to attend cervical screening regardless of vaccination status, and HPV self-testing kits are being sent to women who have not yet come forward for screening. The England Department of Health and Social Care said it is rolling out catch-up HPV vaccination campaigns through community pharmacies.
What comes next
Prof. Sasieni and his colleagues expect the death toll from cervical cancer to keep falling as more young people are vaccinated and as those already vaccinated age through their 30s, 40s, and beyond. The study is among the first anywhere in the world to show that a vaccine program has translated into measurable reductions in cancer mortality at the population level — not just in clinical trials, but in real national data.
The results are part of a longer arc of declining cancer deaths in England, but they also show how much depends on keeping vaccination levels high. The science has done its part. The remaining challenge is reaching every eligible young person.
Read more
For more on this story, see: BBC News
For more from Good News for Humankind, see:
- Alzheimer’s risk cut in half by drug in landmark prevention trial
- U.K. cancer death rates down to their lowest level on record
- The Good News for Humankind archive on global health
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