WHEN Queensland immunologist Ian Frazer released the first vaccine against the sexually transmitted human papilloma virus he was hailed as "god's gift to women".

Now, Australian researchers have the first evidence showing the 2006 Australian of the Year's HPV vaccine may do more than prevent highly contagious genital warts - it may prevent cervical cancer too.

It's early days yet, but a Melbourne-based team led by Julia Brotherton with the Victorian Cytology Service Registries has reported in the British journal The Lancet that vaccinated girls younger than age 18 had 38 per cent fewer serious cervical lesions than did girls before the advent of the vaccine, sold in Australia as Gardasil.

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Reduction of these so-called high-grade cervical abnormalities (HGCAs) is significant as they're precursors to cervical cancer.

"This is the first report of a decrease in incidence of HGCAs within three years after the implementation of a population-wide HPV vaccination Program," the team reported.

Australia introduced a national HPV vaccination program for all women aged 12-26 years in 2007. Dr Brotherton and her colleagues analysed trends in cervical abnormalities, both high- and low- grade, in women in Victoria before and after introduction of the vaccination program.

The found the decreased incidence of HGCAs was obvious in the youngest group sooner that it was detected in the older groups who were more likely to have been previously sexually active: "(This) reinforces the appropriateness of targeting prophylactic (preventive) HPV vaccines to preadolescant girls".

In an accompanying commentary in The Lancet, US experts Mona Saraiya and Susan Hariri wrote: "The not-so-cautious optimist in us wants to hail this early finding as true evidence of vaccine effect."

The pair - with the Centres for Disease Control an Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia - warn that as cervical cancer takes many years to develop further work must be conducted to confirm that the vaccine prevents the cancer.