New cervical cancer pill shows promise by stopping HPV from turning cancerous

5 min readJul 28, 2026 09:39 AM IST Cervical cancer is one of the two cancers caused by infections and, therefore, is preventable through vaccination. Now, a capsule may be all it takes to halt cervical cancer in its tracks. While the oral therapy called SHetA2 cannot prevent the human papillomavirus infection — persistent HPV infection is known to cause 85% of cervical cancer cases — it can block the virus’ cancer-causing proteins, thereby preventing pre-cancerous and cancerous lesions. Cervical cancer is one of the two cancers caused by infections and, therefore, is preventable through vaccination. It is the second most common type of cancer among women in India, affecting over 79,000 of them and killing 36,319 in 2024, according to Global Cancer Observatory data. Cervical cancer account