Toward vaccines against cervical cancer

Cervical cancer and pre-cancerous lesions of the genital tract are a major threat to the health of women worldwide. Introduction of screening tests to detect cervical cancer precursor lesions has reduced cervical cancer rates in the developed world, but not in developing countries. Approximately 80% of the 470,000 cervical cancer cases diagnosed worldwide each year occur in developing countries. Despite advances in treatment of cervical cancer, about half of the women with the disease will die. Over the last 20 years, several lines of scientific investigation have identified oncogenic human papillomaviruses as etiological agents for cervical cancer, and have led to the development of prophylactic vaccines against this disease.