IARC marks Cervical Cancer Awareness Month 2025

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is marking Cervical Cancer Awareness Month by showcasing some of the promising areas of research that could enable countries to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem more rapidly.

Recent research by IARC scientists has shown that a single dose of vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV) offers robust protection against persistent infection with HPV even 15 years after the vaccine is administered. The study also explains how this will deliver cost savings for health systems, enabling more people to be vaccinated or increasing screening coverage.

An innovative new artificial intelligence (AI) tool, developed by IARC scientists in collaboration with engineers from NSV Incorporated (USA), will soon undergo field validation tests in Zimbabwe. The revolutionary new AI tool, designed specifically for use in low-resource settings, can accurately detect cervical precancers and cancers in images of the cervix taken during appointments for cervical cancer screening.

In 2022, more than 660 000 women are estimated to have been diagnosed with cervical cancer worldwide and about 350 000 women are estimated to have died from the disease.

The World Health Organization (WHO) launched the Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative in November 2020, with the goal of eliminating cervical cancer as a public health problem by 2100. To achieve this, all countries must reach and maintain an incidence rate of fewer than 4 new cases of cervical cancer per 100 000 women per year. Achieving that goal rests on three key pillars and their corresponding targets:

• Vaccination: 90% of girls fully vaccinated with the HPV vaccine by the age of 15 years;
• Screening: 70% of women screened using a high-performance test by the age of 35 years, and again by the age of 45 years;
• Treatment: 90% of women with precancer treated and 90% of women with invasive cancer managed.

Each country should meet the 90–70–90 targets by 2030 to get on the path towards eliminating cervical cancer by the end of this century.

Visit the Cervical Cancer Awareness Month 2025 webpage