Prophylactic human papillomavirus vaccination: A breakthrough in primary cervical cancer prevention

Nearly all cervical cancers require human papillomavirus infection (HPV) for subsequent carcinogenesis. The identification of this obligate viral etiology, in addition to a vast knowledge about the HPV viral life cycle and resultant host response, has led to a vaccine approach to cervical cancer prevention. The use of prophylactic cancer vaccine as primary prevention holds the most promise for long-term cancer prevention but raises some important and as yet unanswered questions that are addressed in this article.