Cervical cancer rates cut by almost 90% in women who had HPV vaccine
Cervical cancer rates are almost 90% lower in women vaccinated against HPV, a new study has found.
Women offered the vaccine between the ages of 12 and 13 were found to have cancer rates 87% lower than in previous generations, according to a study published in The Lancet.
Researchers also found a reduction of 62% in women vaccinated between ages 14 and 16.
England began rolling out its HPV vaccination programme in 2008
The first generation of women, who were offered “catch-up” jabs aged between 16 and 18, were found to have a 34% reduction in cervical cancer rates.
Professor Peter Sasieni, from King’s College London and one of the authors of the paper, told Sky News some of the results were “almost too good to be true”.
“Everything is on target to be preventing essentially all cancers from HPV 16 and 18 in vaccinated women,” he said.
He said there was also “some cross-protection” for other cancers caused by the human papillomavirus and “some protection, although much less, to women of the same age who are not actually vaccinated”.
He continued: “There is a lot of vaccine hesitancy going on these days.
“People who are opposed to these vaccines can no longer say this vaccine doesn’t prevent cancer because this makes it absolutely clear it is having a dramatic effect on cervical cancer incidents.”
With COVID-19 vaccination now taking place in schools, he said there are pressures to move HPV jabs from the autumn to the summer term.
“We need to think about the impact that will have,” he said.
“People don’t come in because they are revising, or they only come in for exams. So to get the same uptake of the vaccine will be challenging – as I am sure it has been challenging the last year and a half because of COVID.”
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HPV vaccination has been introduced in 100 countries as part of efforts by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to eliminate cervical cancer.
It is a common sexually transmitted infection, with some types being linked to cervical cancer in women and head and neck cancer in men.
The English HPV vaccination programme was introduced in 2008, with vaccines given to women aged between 12 and 13 and “catch-up” jabs offered to older age groups up to the age of 18.
England initially used a bivalent vaccine, which protects against the two most common types of HPV, responsible for approximately 70% to 80% of all cervical cancers. Since September 2012, the quadrivalent vaccine Gardasil has been used instead.
The study looked at the population-based cancer registry data between January 2006 and June 2019 for seven cohorts of women, aged between 20 and 64.
Women offered the vaccine between the ages of 12 and 13 have an 87% reduction in cancer rates
During that time frame, 28,000 diagnoses of cervical cancer and 300,000 diagnoses of non-invasive cervical carcinoma (CIN3) in total were recorded in England.
In the three vaccinated cohorts, there were just 638 cases of cervical cancers and 18,662 cases of CIN3 compared to the non-vaccinated population.
Prof Sasieni said cases in young women were “very traumatic on everyone”.
“When talking to colleagues who treat women, they always remember the young ones and sometimes it is very aggressive and they can’t help that much,” he said.
One of the benefits of such an effective vaccine, he said, could mean women require less cervical screening, adding: “It doesn’t make sense to say you need to continue screening in the same way.”
In the three vaccinated cohorts, there were around 450 fewer cases of cervical cancers
But he said until the policy was changed, “the last thing we want is for women to think, I have been vaccinated so I don’t need to attend my screening – because that could have really serious consequences”.
The authors of the study did acknowledge some limitations – principally that cervical cancer diagnosis is rare in young women. Because the vaccinated populations are still young, the authors also stressed this means that it is still too early to assess the full impact of HPV immunisation on cervical cancer rates.
UK
Harshita Brella: International manhunt under way for husband after woman’s body found in car boot
An international manhunt is under way for the husband of a murdered woman, whose body was found in the boot of a car.
The body of Harshita Brella was found in east London on Thursday, tens of miles away from her home in Corby.
On Sunday, Northamptonshire Police said they were looking for Pankaj Lamba – who they believe has left the country.
Sky News understands she had been under the protection of a court order designed for victims of domestic abuse.
“Our inquiries lead us to suspect that Harshita was murdered in Northamptonshire earlier this month by her husband Pankaj Lamba,” said chief inspector Paul Cash.
“We suspect Lamba transported Harshita’s body from Northamptonshire to Ilford by car.”
“Fast track” enquires were made after the force was contacted on Wednesday by someone concerned about Ms Brella’s welfare. After she failed to answer the door at her home in Skegness Walk, Corby, a missing person investigation was launched.
Her body was found inside the boot of a vehicle on Brisbane Road, Ilford, in the early hours of Thursday morning.
A post mortem – conducted at Leicester Royal Infirmary on Friday – established she had been murdered.
Harshita Brella, 24, from Corby. Her body was found in a car in east London. Pic: Northamptonshire Police
More than 60 detectives are working on the case, with lines of enquiry including going house to house and property searches, as well as looking at CCTV and ANPR.
“We are of course continuing to appeal for any information that will help us piece together exactly what happened as we work to get justice for Harshita,” said chief inspector Cash.
“I urge anyone listening to or reading this statement, that if you saw anything suspicious in the past week or have any information, no matter how small, please contact us. We would always rather receive well-meaning information that turns out to be nothing as opposed to not receiving it all.”
Pankaj Lamba. Pic: Northamptonshire Police
Force referred to police watchdog
On Saturday, Northamptonshire Police said it had made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct due to previous contact between the force and the victim.
Northamptonshire Police previously said officers had been conducting investigations at three locations: Skegness Walk and Sturton Walk in Corby and Brisbane Road, Ilford, where Ms Brella’s body was found.
East Midlands Special Operations Major Crime Unit (EMSOU) and Northamptonshire Police said they were working “around the clock to establish the circumstances behind her death, including the exact location and timeframe in which it took place”.
State-of-the-art technology has been used to create a voice for King Richard III – giving him a Yorkshire accent.
A digital avatar of the medieval king’s head went on display in front of excited history fans at York Theatre Royal.
Richard III was king of England from 1483 until his death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, at the age of 32.
His remains were found in a car park in Leicester in 2012 by historian Philippa Langley.
Speaking about the recreation, she said: “We’ve got leading experts in their fields who have been working on this for 10 years and so everything has been meticulously researched, meticulously evidenced, so you are seeing the most accurate portrayal of Richard III”.
A team based at Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University created the avatar based on the reconstruction of Richard III’s head with the help of a craniofacial expert.
Experts from various fields helped put the pieces of the puzzle together, including speech and language therapy, dentistry, forensic psychology and archaeology.
His voice has been created by Professor David Crystal, a leading linguist in 15th-century pronunciation. He admitted that it’s impossible to know exactly how he spoke, but this is as close as they will get.
The king was born in Northampton but spent a lot of his life in Yorkshire. His parents were also from the north of England.
Vocal coach Yvonne Morley-Chisholm spent a decade researching how the monarch would have sounded. She worked with the actor Thomas Dennis who was chosen as his body and face were such a good physical match.
Speaking to Sky News, she said people will be shocked at how different he sounded compared with traditional portrayals of the king on stage and screen.
The coach and actor also examined the king’s letters and diary so that “as you pronounced a word that’s how you would write it”.
Read more from Sky News:
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The voice shows the change in pronunciation over the centuries – from regional variations to the Queen’s English.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
History fans at the unveiling were delighted with the accent, with one telling Sky News: “Northerners are known to be happy, positive, all those lovely qualities.”
Born in Northampton but a northerner through and through, technology has brought the king’s speech back to life
South Yorkshire Police have warned pet owners to “step up before someone dies” after receiving 13 reports of dangerous dogs in less than 48 hours.
One man was attacked by his own American bulldog in Sheffield on Thursday afternoon, the force said, when he attempted to separate it and a pocket bully inside a property.
The owner suffered lacerations to his face, neck and head, and was taken to hospital, while his dog was seized and remains in police kennels.
Warning: Distressing images below
Another incident saw a woman walking home with her baby in a carrier on her chest, when she was approached by a loose XL bully who began to show aggression and jump up to her baby.
An elderly woman and her grandchild were attacked by another loose dog in Sheffield.
“As dogs causing harm and fear in our communities continues to place significant demand on our force, we’re urging owners to step up, before someone dies,” South Yorkshire Police said in a statement.
Some of the injuries caused by the American bulldog attack. Pic: South Yorkshire Police
The warning comes after 10-year-old Savannah Bentham was killed at her family’s home in North Yorkshire by their dog on 1 November.
Read more:
Murdered woman found in car boot ‘may have been ‘targeted’
How victims of road accidents are being forgotten and failed
Chief Inspector Emma Cheney, leading the work on dangerous dogs across South Yorkshire, said: “Recently we have sadly seen another fatal incident in the UK of a dog causing death.
“People think it won’t happen to them, that their dog won’t cause harm, but it can happen to anyone. Any dog can cause fear and harm and owners who do not step up and prevent harm to our communities will not be tolerated.
“You are responsible for your dog’s actions, and we continue to put people before the courts.
“We only have a limited number of resources, attending dangerous dog incidents takes officers away from other calls. If every owner steps up and makes small changes, we can make a difference.”
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