Essential Facts
- Cervical cancer is caused by certain types of a virus called human papillomavirus (HPV)
- Worldwide, cervical cancer kills one woman every two minutes
- HPV is a particularly challenging virus as it is able to evade detection by the immune system
- As a purely mucosal virus, HPV does not enter the bloodstream and does not kill the cells it infects, therefore the virus avoids sending out the usual signals that trigger the immune system
- HPV types 16 and 18 are the most common cancer-causing HPV types and account for over 70% of all cervical cancer cases globally
- Globally HPV types 45, 31 and 33 are among the next most common cancer-causing types
- Up to 80% of women will acquire an HPV infection in their lifetime and almost 50 percent of these infections will be with a cancer-causing virus type
- Women remain vulnerable to HPV infection throughout their sexually active life
- The most effective means of tackling cervical cancer is through prevention. It is now possible to vaccinate against most common cancer-causing strains of HPV
- As well as vaccination, cervical cancer screening remains a valuable intervention for all sexually active women