UK Records Zero Cervical Cancer Deaths in Young Women for First Time After HPV Vaccination Programme

England has recorded zero deaths from cervical cancer in women aged 20 to 24 for the first time, a landmark achievement linked to the introduction of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme. The findings, published in The Lancet, provide strong evidence that the vaccine is saving lives and could potentially eliminate cervical cancer in the future.

Research led by Queen Mary University of London and funded by Cancer Research UK shows that the HPV vaccine has already prevented an estimated 200 deaths from cervical cancer in England. The study highlights that young women who received the vaccine at age 12 or 13 now have a near-zero risk of dying from cervical cancer before the age of 30. During the 2020 to 2024 period, there were no recorded deaths from the disease among women aged 20 to 24, a cohort that would have otherwise seen an estimated 23 fatalities without vaccination. This follows an 80 percent drop in mortality for the same age group between 2015 and 2019 compared to pre-vaccination levels.

The HPV vaccination programme began in England in 2008 for girls and was expanded to include boys in 2019. The vaccine protects against high-risk HPV types responsible for 99.7 percent of cervical cancer cases, as well as genital warts and certain head and neck cancers. Despite the success, vaccination coverage has declined. In 2024–25, uptake among Year 8 pupils was 71.5 percent for girls and 67 percent for boys, well below the World Health Organization’s 90 percent target. London recorded the lowest rates, at 62.6 percent for girls and 57.7 percent for boys. Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, Michelle Mitchell, hailed the results as proof that the vaccine saves lives but cautioned that falling uptake could jeopardise progress. NHS England aims to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040 through combined vaccination and screening programmes.