Sasieni Says Hpv Vaccine Cut England Cervical Cancer Deaths to Zero
England recorded no cervical cancer deaths in women aged 20 to 24 from 2020 to 2024 after the hpv vaccine was offered to school-age girls from 2008. The analysis, published in the Lancet, says around 200 lives have been saved in England so far and puts children vaccinated at 12 or 13 at close to zero risk of dying from the disease before 30.
Peter Sasieni and the Lancet
Prof Peter Sasieni, the lead researcher at Queen Mary University of London, said: "It's incredible to think that a single jab can almost eliminate a particular type of cancer," The study found that without vaccination, around 23 deaths would have been expected between 2020 and 2024 in women aged 20 to 24.
That age group is the clearest measure in the analysis. Before the HPV vaccination campaign, around 20 deaths every year were being recorded in that age group, while cervical cancer remains the 14th most common cancer among females in the UK and around 3,300 people are diagnosed with it every year.
Cancer Research UK funding
Cancer Research UK funded the research, and its chief executive, Michelle Mitchell, said: "We know the HPV vaccine is extremely effective at stopping cervical cancer before it starts and for the first time these findings show it is saving lives," The organisation also warned that vaccination rates in England were running below recommended levels.
The findings point to a gap between the programme's reach and the wider burden of the disease. HPV is thought to cause 99% of cervical cancer cases, and the report's authors expect deaths to continue to fall as more people are vaccinated and vaccinated people grow older.
Alexandra Legg in 2021
Alexandra Legg, who was diagnosed with cervical cancer aged 30 in 2021, left school just before the HPV vaccine was introduced in England. She said: "I remember hearing the words and I just couldn't really breathe very well," and later added: "I was so upset - everything went through my head, it was so hard."
Her case sits at the edge of the campaign's timeline: she missed the school rollout, while younger women vaccinated in childhood are the group now showing the sharpest drop in deaths. For readers, the practical lesson is straightforward — the vaccine's impact is already visible in one young age group, but the protection depends on uptake staying high enough for the programme to keep reaching children before exposure.
