Despite great expectations and promising results of clinicaltrials, we still lack sufficient evidence of an effective vaccineagainst cervical cancer. Several strains of human papillomavirus(HPV) can cause cervical cancer, and two vaccines directed againstthe currently most important oncogenic strains (i.e., the HPV-16and HPV-18 serotypes) have been developed. That is the goodnews. The bad news is that the overall effect of the vaccineson cervical cancer remains unknown. As Kim and Goldie1 pointout in this issue of the Journal, the real impact of HPV vaccinationon cervical cancer will not be observable for decades.