A decline in precancerous cervical lesions in women ages 18 to 24. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection causes approximately 30,000 cancers in the United States each year. Cervical cancer prevention strategies include both routine screening and HPV vaccination, which in 2006 became routine for girls ages 11 or 12. The first estimates of the number of high-grade (precancerous) cervical lesions, which were derived from population-based data, show that in women ages 18 to 24 the number of cases fell significantly from 2008 to 2016, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC concludes: "Increasing coverage of HPV vaccination in females at the routine age of 11 or 12 years and catch-up vaccination through age 26[horizontal ellipsis] will contribute to further reduction in cervical precancers." See the report at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/wr/mm6815a1.htm.