A vaccine against human papilloma virus (HPV) appeared to significantly lower abnormal Pap test results in women and young females, research states.

Findings presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Gynaecological Oncologists focused on three separate trials involving 18,000 participants, aged 16 to 26, in the US, Europe and Asia.

The researchers at the University of Alabama found that participants who received the Gardasil vaccine showed reduced abnormal Pap test results by 43 per cent compared to women not given the vaccine.

The reduction was identified in tests that found high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) more than three years after women were given the vaccine.

All test subjects showed normal Pap smear readings when the trial commenced.

"While the findings are not definitive that Gardasil prevents cancer, they do signal the vaccine will spare thousands of women a diagnosis of cell abnormality or malignant changes that may lead to more tests and possibly surgery," spokesperson Warner Huh stated.

However he added: "It will take many more years to know definitively if the vaccine prevents cancer."

In addition the study found that invasive procedures such as cervical biopsies were performed 42 per cent less frequently in participants who had received the vaccine.

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