HPV Vaccination

Every year, over half a million women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and more than 300,000 die from the disease. These deaths are particularly tragic because we can prevent them through vaccination and early screening.

It’s possible to virtually eliminate this type of cancer with existing vaccines. Some countries are already on track to achieve this goal within a decade, but many others lag behind.

This is a huge opportunity to save hundreds of thousands of women every year.

In this article, we describe the cause of cervical cancer and how we can use incredibly effective vaccines to eliminate it.

How does the virus cause these cancers?

HPV is a very common virus that spreads through physical contact — especially through sex, kissing, or touching — and can infect cells in the cervix, vagina, penis, mouth, and some other parts of the body.

In some people infected by HPV, the virus integrates itself into cells’ DNA and damages key proteins that protect us from uncontrolled cell growth — eventually leading to cancer.

This link between HPV and cervical cancer was uncovered in the 1980s by the scientist Harald zur Hausen, who later won a Nobel prize for the discovery.2

Before this, researchers debated whether hormones, environmental toxins, or other factors were responsible. Zur Hausen’s team focused on human papillomaviruses, which were then known to cause genital warts.

The team identified viral DNA in cervical cancer cells and found that the virus was present in the cancer cells and integrated their DNA. HPV was able to disrupt key functions of cells by damaging proteins like “p53”, which is critical in stopping cells from multiplying if they develop potentially harmful mutations.3

Further research confirmed their findings and helped uncover the role of HPV in a range of other cancers.1