evidence: Thanks to early detection and treatment, rates of cervical cancer have plummeted by more than half over the past 50 years. Rates are falling fastest among women in their early 20s, the first generation to benefit from HPV vaccines, which were approved in 2006. HPV, the human papillomavirus, causes six types of cancer, including cervical cancer. [...] Others say the increase in cervical cancer rates among 30- and 40-something women isn’t so easily explained.