November 24, 2025

Two new Cochrane reviews on HPV vaccines and cervical cancer prevention

Cochrane are publishing two new reviews looking at the HPV vaccine.  Together, they provide the most comprehensive and up-to-date evidence on HPV vaccination to date, drawing from both large-scale real-world studies and rigorous clinical trials.

The first review looked at randomised controlled trials and included 60 studies with 157,414 participants, to estimate how effective HPV vaccines are at preventing infections that can lead to cancer and other HPV-related conditions, as well as precancerous changes in the cervix, globally.

The second review looked at observational data and analysed evidence from 225 studies involving more than 132 million people across multiple countries, to examine the association of HPV vaccination with cervical cancer incidence.

The reviews have also thoroughly investigated side effects and adverse events associated with the vaccines.

Come to this briefing to hear from the authors of the review discuss e.g.:

– what is the effectiveness of the vaccines at preventing HPV infections?

– are there differences in effectiveness with age of vaccination?

– can we say yet to what extent the vaccines prevent cervical cancer in women?

– what about other cancers including e.g. anal, penile, and head and neck cancers in men?

– what does the evidence tell us about side effects of these vaccines?

Speakers will include:

Dr Jo Morrison, senior author, gynaecological oncology consultant at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, and Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Exeter

Dr Nicholas Henschke, co-lead author and Head of Cochrane Response

Hanna Bergman, co-lead author and evidence synthesis specialist, The Cochrane Collaboration