The most comprehensive study to date has found that the use of condoms dramatically reduces the chances of contracting the human papilloma virus (HPV) the single biggest cause of cervical cancer.
The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, contradicts the findings of previous studies which found that condoms were ineffective in preventing the transmission of HPV, which is passed on through skin-to-skin contact.
Researchers found that women who reported regularly using condoms with their sexual partners were 70 per cent less likely to develop a HPV infection compared to those who rarely used them.
HPV can lead to genital warts as well as being the biggest cause of cervical cancer worldwide, a disease that causes an estimated 290,000 deaths in women each year.
Earlier this month, the development of a vaccine against HPV marked a huge step forward in the fight against the spread of cervical cancer, with Gardasil set to become available to women in the near future.