Cervical Cancer Awareness

If you are a woman who has her cervix, you are at risk for cervical cancer. Women who have had a total hysterectomy, which includes removing the cervix, are not at risk for cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer, one of the leading causes of death worldwide, is most frequently diagnosed in women between ages 35 and 44. More than 13,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with cervical cancer annually.

• About 13,490 women in the U.S. will receive a new diagnosis of cervical cancer in 2023.
• An estimated 4,200 women will die from cervical cancer in 2023.
• About 50% of women diagnosed with cervical cancer are 35-64 years old.
• The 5-year survival rate for women with localized cervical cancer, or stage I cancer that has not spread to other parts of the body, is 91.8%.

There are approximately 13,000 new cases of HPV-associated cervical cancer diagnosed in the United States each year. Overall, the human papillomavirus causes more than 95% of all cervical cancers.

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S. It can cause cancers of the genital regions in men and women, as well as cancers of the throat.

Cervical cancer is predominantly caused by HPV, the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Today this is a preventable illness because of the HPV vaccine. The vaccine protects against HPV types that most commonly cause anal, cervical, head and neck, penile, vaginal and vulvar cancers. The American Cancer Society recommends the HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer and precancers.

HPV testing pinpoints the presence of high-risk HPV types in cervical cells. The test can detect HPV infections that cause cell abnormalities, sometimes even before the abnormalities are evident. With the HPV vaccine, routine pap tests and HPV testing, we can prevent cervical cancer and dysplasia.

Kansas and Missouri rank in the lower quartile nationally for adolescent HPV vaccination, though rates have slowly improved over time.

A September 2025 report from the Immunize Kansas Coalition Data Dashboard showed Kansas adolescent HPV vaccination rates continue to improve for both girls and boys. The greatest increase was seen in girls, with 81.6% having at least one dose of the HPV vaccine, compared to 51% in 2015. The number of boys having at least one dose of the HPV vaccine also increased to 70.4%.

The University of Kansas Cancer Center joins other National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers to endorse updated HPV vaccination recommendations.