Causes of cervical cancer
The overwhelming cause of cervical cancer is the common HPV virus (human papillomavirus), which accounts for 99.7 per cent of cases, and can be transmitted through any sexual contact between men or women.
Two particular strains of the virus (there are more than 100 types in total, mostly harmless) are responsible for most cases of cancer: HPV 16 and HPV 18.
These are among the variants that can cause abnormalities in the cells of the cervix, which can eventually become cancer.
However, even these are very common and only result in the disease in a small proportion of cases.
The most effective prevention against the virus is the HPV vaccine, which from September 2019 will be offered to all Year 8 pupils boys and girls on the NHS. Those who miss the vaccination can continue to have it until they turn 25.
Using condoms during sex can also help to prevent the chance of the infection spreading, but given that skin-on-skin contact can transmit HPV it is not a foolproof measure
