The Pezcoller Foundation 2026

Lowy and Schiller were recognised for developing the vaccine against HPV (human papillomavirus), the first vaccine specifically targeted at cancer.
This discovery has led to a dramatic reduction in cervical cancer and other HPV-related cancers, particularly in the oral cavity.

The HPV vaccine is the first vaccine developed specifically for cancer prevention. Infection by certain HPV types, especially HPV16 and HPV18, causes nearly all cervical cancers, the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide. HPV16 also causes most anal cancers and more than half of all vulvar, vaginal, penile, and oropharyngeal cancers.

HPV-induced cancers account for approximately 690,000 cancer diagnoses each year.  Of these diagnoses, the majority are for cervical cancer, which leads to an estimated 350,000 deaths worldwide annually.

Vaccination has dramatically reduced cervical cancer incidence in younger women in countries with high HPV vaccine uptake since its introduction 20 years ago, and it is estimated that 1 million future HPV-induced cancers have already been prevented by the current vaccination programs.

If further implemented globally, Lowy and Schiller’s vaccine, which protects against the most common cancer-causing HPV types, could prevent nearly all cases of cervical cancer and other HPV-induced cancers.

Lowy and Schiller, together with their NCI and Costa Rican collaborators, were instrumental in the World Health Organization’s recent recommendation of single-dose vaccination programs, which is expected to further promote global uptake of the vaccines.