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🇳🇴 Norway /Health & Science

FHI study: HPV vaccine highly effective against cervical cancer

From Aftenposten · () Norwegian

Translated from Norwegian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • A study by Norway’s Institute of Public Health found almost no serious cell changes caused by HPV16 or HPV18 among women vaccinated through the childhood immunization program.
  • Researchers recorded one HPV16-related case and no HPV18-related cases among vaccinated women born in 1997 or later.
  • The findings indicate that Norway remains on track to eliminate cervical cancer by 2038, according to the institute.

Almost no young women vaccinated through Norway’s childhood immunization program developed serious cell changes linked to HPV16 or HPV18, according to a new study from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, or FHI.

Among women born in 1997 or later who took part in the program, researchers found just one case of serious cell changes caused by HPV16. They found none caused by HPV18. The study examined 2,305 cases involving women who had been offered the vaccine either as children or through a later catch-up program.

We see that HPV16, the most important cause of cervical cancer, has almost disappeared among young women who were vaccinated before they turned 15.

· Lill TrogstadFHI’s HPV vaccine monitoring program leader described the study’s findings among vaccinated young women.

HPV16 and HPV18 cause most cases of cervical cancer, the study says. Lill Trogstad, who leads FHI’s national HPV vaccine monitoring program and was the study’s senior author, said HPV16, the most important cause of cervical cancer, had “almost disappeared” among women vaccinated before they turned 15. She said the findings clearly showed that the vaccine provides strong protection.

This clearly shows that the HPV vaccine provides very good protection.

· Lill TrogstadTrogstad highlighted the vaccine’s protection against serious cell changes.

FHI expects the number of women developing precancerous changes and cancer caused by HPV16 and HPV18 to continue falling. Trogstad said the results supported earlier Norwegian modeling studies and suggested that Norway could reach its goal of eliminating cervical cancer within the next 12 years, by 2038.

The HPV vaccine became part of Norway’s free, voluntary childhood immunization program for girls in seventh grade in 2009. Boys received the same offer from 2018. A catch-up program ran from November 2016 through the end of 2018 for young women born in 1991 or later who had not previously been offered the vaccine or had declined it. Norway recorded 259 cervical cancer diagnoses among women in 2025.

The findings from this study support earlier Norwegian modeling studies, and Norway is well on track to reach the goal of eliminating cervical cancer within the next 12 years, by 2038.

· Lill TrogstadTrogstad linked the study results to Norway’s cervical cancer elimination target.
About this summary

Originally published by Aftenposten in Norwegian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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