Q: What do you see as the next steps in terms of research in cervical cancer screening?

Dr. Solomon: I think one of the most exciting areas in cervical cancer research is the work on developing vaccines against human papillomavirus, or HPV, which we know is the cause of cervical cancer. I think that this is extremely promising and has the potential for having a tremendous impact in terms of women's health - both in the United States, as well as worldwide.

In the United States we're fortunate to have a strong cervical cancer screening infrastructure, where women have, by and large, access to Pap testing. But in many parts of the world that lack such an infrastructure, cervical cancer is the number one cause of cancer deaths among women. Development of a vaccine would have a significant impact on reducing deaths due to cervical cancer worldwide.