Scientists in Mexico announced on Wednesday that by next June they plan to present a vaccine which can prevent and control the human papilloma virus (HPV), the virus that causes cancer in cervical tissue.

The main advantage of the vaccine is the possibility of using it on women who have pre-malignant lesions to prevent and revert the HPV infection, Gabino Vaca, chief of the Endoscopy and Gynecology Service of the Fray Antonio Alcalde Civil Hospital, told the press.

The vaccine has been shown to be able to reduce the chance of developing uterine cancer by 97 percent, and is now being processed in the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the most renowned institution of higher learning in the country, said Vaca.

Vaca said that every two hours, one woman dies of uterine cancer in Mexico, and of the women who die of the disease every year, 4,000 could have been saved by early-detection techniques.

HPV is a wart virus that causes many cervical cancers, including endometrial cancer (in the uterus).

Source: Xinhua