Reduction in Cervical Cancer Mortality in Women Under Age 25: JAMA Study Finds - Video

Cervical cancer deaths have plunged dramatically among women under age 25, and researchers at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center believe this is likely due to HPV vaccination.

The study, published in JAMA, studied the impact of HPV vaccination on cervical cancer deaths.

"We observed a substantial reduction in mortality -- a 62% drop in cervical cancer deaths over the last decade, likely due to HPV vaccination," said senior author Ashish Deshmukh, Ph.D., co-leader of the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center.

"We cannot think of any other reason that would have contributed to such a marked decline."

Although cervical cancer is rare in women under age 25, it does occur. By examining deaths in this age group, researchers were able to see the early impact of the vaccine. Women who were 25 in 2021, the final year included in this study, would have been 10 years old when the vaccine was introduced.

The researchers looked at cervical cancer deaths in three-year blocks of time.

Through the 1990s, there were between 50 and 60 cervical cancer deaths nationally in women under the age of 25 in each three-year block of time. During the 2019-2021 time period, there were only 13 deaths.

However, the team sounded an alarm. Healthy People 2030 has a goal of reaching an 80% HPV vaccination rate, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported earlier this year that only about 60% of 13 to 15 year olds have received the recommended doses.

Reference:https://web.musc.edu/about/news-center/2024/11/27/cervical-cancer-deaths-in-young-women-plummet-after-introduction-of-hpv-vaccine