evidence: How HPV vaccines and new screening methods could help eliminate cervical cancer [...] Current HPV vaccines target high-risk forms of the virus – including the HPV-16 and HPV-18 strains, which cause 70% of cervical cancers. Newer vaccines are being introduced that protect against further strains, but even these will not protect against every cancer-associated type of HPV, so cervical cancer screening continues to be recommended for young women who have been vaccinated. Screening is even more important for women who have not had the opportunity to be protected from HPV through vaccination, and still face the risk of developing cervical cancer during their most productive years. Here, "screening and treatment of precancerous lesions can prevent them from developing a debilitating, painful and often fatal cancer," says Emily Kobayashi, Head of the HPV Vaccines Programme at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.