It is serious that so many women have not been tested, and that 5,700 women with confirmed aggressive HPV have not been followed up. There is a high risk that this group will develop cervical cancer and that it will progress very quickly, says Fanette Caudron, policy expert at the Swedish Cancer Society.
Around 1 percent of women found to have the aggressive virus types HPV16 or HPV18 develop cancer within a year, which corresponds to around 60 women in this case.
The figures are taken from the latest update from June on the number of participants in HPV screening, from the National Quality Register for Cervical Cancer Prevention (NKCx).
Can be treated
Approximately 400 women develop cervical cancer each year in Sweden. However, if HPV is detected early, it can be treated. There are large differences between regions.
There are some regions that may not have prioritised this, while we know that other regions are very good at following up and ensuring that more people participate in screening in general, continues Fanette Caudron.
15 percent of women who have received a positive HPV test in Östergötland have not been followed up. In Värmland, for example, it is less than 3 percent.
So there is a very big difference. Värmland is good at both testing and follow-up. Västmanland, Blekinge and Dalarna are other positive examples, she says.
Eradicate HPV
A broad rollout of HPV self-testing is currently underway in several regions. Sweden is well ahead in introducing it - a full 254,000 women took their own HPV test through self-testing in 2025, according to Joakim Dillner, chair of the steering group and registrar for NKCx.
A national project to eradicate HPV and cervical cancer started in 2021 and is entering its final phase this year. The project offers vaccination combined with HPV testing to women born between 1994 and 1999.
When many people have been vaccinated, HPV screening provides extra high and long-lasting protection. This is because the infection is becoming more and more rare, fewer people get a new infection, says Dillner.
The goal is for 90 percent of women of screening age, 23 to 70 years old, to test themselves for HPV. The goal must be reached before December 2026 for Sweden to become the first in the world to eradicate cervical cancer by 2027, says Fanette Caudron.
