Korean expert says HPV vaccination alone is not enough to prevent cervical cancer

Lee Jae Kwan, of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Korea University Guro Hospital, said: "Cervical cancer is preventable, but vaccination alone is not enough. The success of prevention depends on regular screening and early detection, follow-up evaluation, and continued treatment." Health Chosun published his comments on 4 November.

The warning comes as Korean screening data show a gap between the national program and actual participation. A Konyang University team followed 4,663 women for up to 12 years and found the regular cervical cancer screening rate among Korean women was 18.9%, in a study published in the Journal of Gynecologic Oncology in 2024. A National Cancer Center report put the overall screening rate in 2024 at 62%, but only 40.8% among women in their 20s.

Two-year national schedule

Korea's National Cancer Screening Program offers cervical cytology every two years to women aged 20 and older. Health Chosun reported that cervical cancer often develops silently: persistent high-risk HPV infection can cause precancerous lesions, and the disease may take 15 to 20 years to progress to cancer. Symptoms that warrant suspicion rarely appear during that period, which is one reason the disease is often detected late.

Regular screening is the best way to find cervical cancer at the precancer stage, the article said. Cytology checks for cellular abnormalities. HPV DNA tests directly detect high-risk HPV that can cause cervical cancer. A positive HPV result does not mean cancer; a secondary screening process identifies who is at high risk and whether a detailed examination or retesting is needed.

Barriers and follow-up

Low uptake is not only a matter of interest. A study analyzing the 2022 Survey on Sexual and Reproductive Health by Life Stage Among Korean Women identified lack of time and the discomfort of gynecologic examinations as major reasons women did not receive gynecologic care. A separate study in the Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing found women may feel stigma and shame because the virus is transmitted through sexual contact.

Health Chosun reported that experts stress regular screening even without symptoms, because cervical cancer can be detected and managed before it progresses. They also say screening should not stop at checking for infection: patients at high risk of persistent infection need to be connected with follow-up care.

Separate modelling published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in February estimated that women vaccinated against HPV before age 30 could need only two or three cervical screenings over their lifetimes. The authors, from Norway's University of Oslo and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, used Norwegian government health data. They said more research is needed before clinicians begin reducing screenings.