SINGAPORE -- A vaccine against cervical cancer is being tested in Singapore as part of a worldwide trial, doctors said on Wednesday.

The vaccine acts against the human papilloma virus, or HPV, which is found in as many as 99.7 percent of cervical cancers.

"For a change, we'll be tackling the problem at its roots, apart from screening and looking at cures after diagnosis," the *****Straits Times****** quoted doctor Tay Eng Hseon as saying.

Tay, head of the KK Women's and Children's Hospital Gynecological Oncology Unit, said the first jabs were given last week and plans are to vaccinate a few hundred more women between 16 to 26.

Those who sign up will get three doses of the vaccine within a six-month period, and yearly checkups until the trial is over.

Cervical cancer is one of the deadliest cancers in women, behind lung and breast cancer. It affects 471,000 each year and kills about half, data showed.

An estimated 230 new cases are diagnosed in Singapore annually.

Forty percent are fatal, DPA reported.

A vaccine for hepatitis B is given as part of a nationwide immunization program here.

It protects people from a viral infection that can lead to liver hardening and liver cancer.