Abstract
Cervical cancer is caused by infection with human papillomavirus (HPV), discovered by Zur Hausen, a 2008 Nobel laureate in medicine.
Regular examination is essential for the prevention of cervical cancer. However, two problems have been pointed out regarding cervical examinationinJapan : low rates of participation in the examination, and the accuracy of cytological diagnoses. If HPV testing is conducted in combination with the cytological diagnoses performed at present, it is estimated that higher levels of screening accuracy will be achieved, and almost 100%of cervical cancer will be detected as a precancerous lesion.
Moreover, an HPV vaccine has been developed. The incidence of cervical cancer is expected to decrease to almost zero in the near future because of increased awareness of HPV vaccination and cancer screening including HPV testing.
