Team leader, Dr. D Harper, said "This is the first time we have shown that there is a vaccine that protects against the only cause of a cancer and we can actually prevent 70 percent of all cervical cancer worldwide." Dr. Harper works at the Dartmouth Medical School, New Hampshire USA. She added that further, larger trials will be needed to confirm her team's trial results.

Cervical cancer is treatable if it is detected early. In the USA there are 470,000 new cases each year.

The results of the trials have been so good, says GlaxoSmithKline, that they have applied for earlier approval (worldwide). The original date they were aiming for was 2008, now they are aiming for 2006.

Business analysts say that Cervarix could become another multi-billion dollar blockbuster.

HPV is a sexually transmitted virus. Researchers have been aiming at finding a way to neutralise the virus so as to prevent the development of cervical cancer. HPV infection is very common. It is estimated that three quarters of women are infected at some point in their lives. Generally, it does not produce symptoms and goes away (no persistent infections).

The team tested 1,113 women from the USA, Canada and Brazil. They were aged from 15 to 25 years.

You can read about this trial in the medical journal The Lancet.

Half the group got three doses of the vaccine while the other half had a placebo (random selection). 27 months later they were checked. The vaccine was 100% effective at stopping persistent infections. Persistent infections can lead to cancer. The vaccine was 91% effective against HPV 16 and 18 infections. The team said side effects were minimal. They also added that the vaccine is safe.