HPV vaccine after removal of precancerous cells may cut cervical cancer risk

The study found people who had been vaccinated against HPV had a 57% lower risk of high-grade preinvasive disease recurring than those who had not had the jab. Photograph: David Cheskin/PA

Giving women the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine when precancerous lesions are removed from their cervix may cut the risk of cells recurring and them getting cervical cancer, a study has found.

Cases of cervical cancer in the UK have fallen hugely since school pupils aged 13 and 14 – first girls and later boys – began being offered HPV jabs in 2008 as protection against the disease.