Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women after breast cancer. Cervical cancer is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the human papillomavirus, or HPV. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), HPV infection typically occurs in the first few years of sexual activity, but it can take up to a full twenty years before it develops into a full-blown malignancy. Scientists believe that for all intents and purposes all cases of cervical cancer are caused by infection with certain types of cancer. In recent years, great strides have been made in the development of a vaccine for the treatment of cervical cancer. Scientists have grown a prophylactic vaccine that would protect against human papillomavirus. The role of HPV in generating cervical cancer was discovered in 1983. WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), based in Lyon, France, has been at the forefront of epidemiological and laboratory needed to understand the disease. IARC has chosen several methods, but most of them are based on genetically modified Virus Like Particles (VLPs), composed of the external structural proteins of HPV. These VLPs are not infectious or carcinogenic because they do not contain DNA. Some factions are trying to produce the prophylactic vaccine mentioned above, while others are developing a therapeutic vaccine for people already infected. Still others are combining the two techniques. All approaches have been presented with enormous obstacles. Human papillomavirus cannot be replicated in cell cultures, nor can it be transmitted to other animals, and human testing is limited given the carcinogenic nature of carcinogenic HPVs which are entirely infectious. All participants at the WHO conference agreed that, due to the different potential risk dynamics of cervical cancer, it is crucial that a prophylactic vaccine is targeted at a younger population that has yet to become sexually active. felt it was important that any vaccine included representative people to ensure international significance. According to researcher Luisa Lina Villa of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Sao Paulo, a potential vaccine would reduce the number of cases in developing countries. There is a large discrepancy between developed countries...... middle of paper ...... cancer is 78% in England and Wales 1991-95 (Cancer Survival, National Statistics) Ø survival rate at 5 year survival rate for women aged 60-69 with cervical cancer is 54% in England and Wales 1991-95 (Cancer Survival, National Statistics) Ø The 1-year survival rate for women aged 70-79 years with cervical cancer is 65% in England and Wales 1991-95 (Cancer Survival, National Statistics) Ø The 5-year survival rate for women aged 70 to 79 with cervical cancer is 37% in England and Wales 1991-95 (Cancer Survival, National Statistics) Ø The 1-year survival rate for women aged 80 to 99 with cervical cancer cancer is 49% in England and Wales 1991-95 (Cancer Survival, National Statistics) Ø the 5-year survival rate for women aged 80 to 99 with cervical cancer is 25% in England and Wales 1991-95 (Cancer Survival, National StatisticsIn conclusion, cervical cancer, while it is a formidable adversary to anyone unfortunate enough to battle it, it can be prevented through both screening and education of the demographic it affects most: young women. As science makes more and more progress every year in the field of oncology, it can be treated with a variety of procedures, both surgical and non-surgical.