ABSTRACT
Since the introduction of cervical cancer screening with the Pap smear, the incidence of cervical cancer has decreased dramatically. Despite these advances, cervical cancer remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality in women. In 2005, it was estimated that over 490 000 new cases of cervical cancer would be diagnosed worldwide.1 The importance of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the pathogenesis of cervical cancer is now well recognized.2
The necessity for HPV in the development of cervical cancer provides an optimal target for diagnostic testing as well as an important target for vaccines and other interventions aimed at reducing the burden of cervical cancer in women.
