Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers, yet it continues to take hundreds of thousands of lives globally each year.
The disease is primarily caused by persistent infection with high-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV). Despite decades of progress, gaps in vaccination coverage, screening participation and follow-up care remain across regions and populations.
A Roche survey found that about one-third of eligible millennials reported delaying or missing cervical cancer screening, often citing time constraints, discomfort or competing priorities.
As part of an annual observance in January, Cervical Health Awareness Month 2026 highlights the importance of prevention, early detection and timely care across the cervical health continuum.
2025 Advances in Cervical Cancer Prevention and Screening
Recent years have seen meaningful changes in how cervical cancer prevention is delivered.
Most national HPV vaccination programs use Gardasil 9, an HPV vaccine developed by Merck that protects against nine HPV types responsible for the majority of cervical cancer cases worldwide. Gardasil 9 received FDA approval in 2014, with its indication later expanded to include individuals aged 9 to 45, and is now widely used in population-level immunization efforts.
In December 2025, the American Cancer Society updated its cervical cancer screening guidelines to reflect growing evidence supporting primary HPV testing, which focuses on detecting high-risk HPV types instead of abnormal cervical cells.
The guidelines also recognize self-collection — where individuals collect a vaginal sample themselves instead of undergoing a traditional speculum exam — as an acceptable option for HPV testing in certain settings, expanding how and where screening can take place.
Alongside updated screening guidance, Abbott has said its SimpliKit can be used for self-collected HPV samples with its molecular testing platforms in the US and in CE-marked countries. Separately, Teal Health has received FDA authorization for the Teal Wand, a device used as part of an HPV screening pathway.
Globally, efforts to improve access to high-quality screening tools continue to advance. In November 2025, BD’s Onclarity HPV assay received World Health Organization (WHO) prequalification, a review process that assesses whether diagnostics meet international standards for quality, safety and performance. Tests with WHO prequalification are often prioritized for use in national screening programs, particularly in lower-income countries.
Vaccination campaigns also remain central to prevention. In late 2025, Sierra Leone conducted a nationwide HPV vaccination campaign that reached more than 1 million girls aged 11 to 18, overcoming years of disruption caused by Ebola and COVID-19. The campaign aligns with WHO’s “90-70-90” cervical cancer elimination targets: vaccinating 90% of girls by age 15, screening 70% of women by age 35 and treating 90% of those with precancerous lesions or cancer.
Progress, however, is uneven. New national cancer statistics released in Canada in November 2025 show that cervical cancer incidence rates have plateaued after decades of decline, raising concerns about whether the country will meet its goal of eliminating cervical cancer by 2040.
New Treatments for Cervical Cancer
While prevention and screening are critical, treatment innovation remains essential for patients diagnosed with advanced disease.
In late 2025, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved tisotumab vedotin for adults with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer whose disease has worsened after prior therapy. Tisotumab vedotin is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), a targeted therapy that links an antibody directed at a tumor-associated protein to a cytotoxic payload, delivering chemotherapy more selectively to cancer cells.
This approval followed a positive decision from the European Commission earlier in 2025 based on results from the Phase III innovaTV 301 trial, which demonstrated improved overall survival compared with chemotherapy.
These regulatory decisions show how late-stage clinical trials could translate into new treatment options for patients.
Phase III Cervical Cancer Trials and Milestones to Watch in 2026
A few late-stage clinical programs could reach important milestones in 2026:
- Volrustomig in high-risk locally advanced cervical cancer: AstraZeneca’s Phase III EVOLVE-Cervical trial is evaluating volrustomig following platinum-based chemoradiotherapy, with an estimated primary completion date in November 2026. Primary completion refers to the point at which data collection for the study’s main outcomes is complete.
- Cadonilimab Phase III program: Cadonilimab, a bispecific antibody designed to target two immune checkpoints simultaneously, is being evaluated in Phase III cervical cancer trials. In June 2025, China’s National Medical Products Administration approved cadonilimab in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy, with or without bevacizumab, for the first-line treatment of persistent, recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer, based on data from the Phase III COMPASSION-16 study.
- Cooperative group research in high-risk disease: The NRG Oncology-led Phase III trial NRG-GY037, which opened in late 2025, is expected to see enrollment progress and operational updates in 2026. Cooperative group studies play an important role in assessing new treatment strategies across diverse clinical settings.
With Cervical Health Awareness Month 2026 here, attention turns to the need for vaccination, accessible screening, timely follow-up and continued clinical research to advance diagnostics, prevention and treatment.
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