Promising cervical cancer vaccine may replace surgery

Finding the cure to cervical cancer may be closer than we think, as a genetically engineered cervical cancer vaccine has performed well during clinical trials. The new study, published in the journal Lancet, shows that the success of this vaccine may offer future women the hope to avoid the current surgery which short-circuits the disease but threatens their ability to have a baby. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Infection, the goal of the vaccine trials was to find a nonsurgical means to treat precancerous lesions caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), which is currently the most common form of sexually transmitted infection and can lead to cervical cancer. Meeting their expectations, the vaccine removed high-grade precancerous cervical lesions in almost half of the women who received it during trials, said scientists. The vaccine, which teaches the immune system cells to recognize precancerous and cancerous cells, was developed by University of...