CDC: Precancerous cervical lesions on decline in young women

Precancerous cervical lesions associated with human papillomavirus declined sharply in women aged 18–24 between 2008 and 2016, likely reflecting increasing HPV vaccination and changes in detection of these lesions due to updated cervical cancer screening and management recommendations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported today. Screen-detected, high-grade cervical lesions develop within a few years after infection and have been used to monitor HPV vaccine impact because HPV-associated cancers typically take decades to develop. In 2006, HPV vaccine was licensed and recommended for girls aged 11-12 and for catch-up vaccination through age 26.